I’ve now been using my treadmill desk for about six weeks, and the concise update is that I love it. I find it easy to work at and much more pleasant than sitting in a chair all day, and I’ve also found that I can do almost all of my translation and related work while on the treadmill. Here are a few specifics:
For most of my work time, I walk on the treadmill at about 0.8 miles per hour and I find that I can translate (either from a PDF/hard copy or using a translation environment tool), talk on the phone, read and respond to e-mail, read web pages, do accounting, etc. while on the treadmill at this speed. The one task that really doesn’t work for me while in motion is proofreading. I proofread from a hard copy, and I think it’s just too much motion for my eyes to scan between the two documents (or maybe I’m one of those thirtysomethings in denial about needing glasses?). So, when I’m proofreading I work at the kitchen table, but otherwise I spend most of my work day on the treadmill, and I really enjoy it.
A few questions that people have asked me about working at a treadmill desk:
–Is it noisy? Not really. I don’t have a high-end treadmill, it’s a ProForm Crosswalk that I bought off Craigslist for $125 and even so the noise factor is not bad. For example, my husband and I work in the same office in our house, and he isn’t bothered by the noise level although (since he sits at a traditional desk), the motor is a lot closer to his ear level than to mine. In addition, no one has ever said “what’s that noise?” when I’ve been talking on the phone while on the treadmill.
–Do you get tired? If you’re used to a very low level of physical activity you would probably need time to work up to long stretches on the treadmill, or you would need to set the desk up such that you could alternate between walking and sitting. I’m not in Ironman shape but I’m fairly active to start out with and enjoy walking, and I find it to be a pretty pleasant level of exertion.
–Does it get you in shape? It depends on how you define “in shape.” A treadmill desk isn’t going to train you to run a marathon, but it’s more exercise than you would think. Even if you walk 5 hours a day at 0.8 miles per hour, that’s 20 miles a week, and I’m betting that most of us don’t walk 20 miles a week to start out with. In my case, I used to believe that I gained 10 pounds when my daughter was born, and now I realize that I gained 10 pounds when I started sitting at a desk all day.
Another good use I’ve found for my treadmill is taking “fast walk breaks” during the day. When I’m feeling tired or struggling with a difficult passage to translate, I turn off the computer monitors, put on my iPod and walk at about 3 miles per hour for 15-20 minutes. This really clears my head, and it’s another good fitness boost.
Thanks for the update — it’s fascinating to follow how you’re making this work!
— Andrea Meyer
Have you noticed any drop in productivity/speed at which you can work? Does it slow down your typing speed? Sounds interesting!
Hi,
Fascinating. What if you need to sit down for some specific job? Do you move all that equipment (monitor, keyboard, mouse) to another desk where you can sit? Or do you put a chair on the treadmill?
Great idea – and thanks very much for telling us all about it.
I don’t mean to be rude, but can I ask if you’ve actually lost weight? Or is it more to just keep yourself fit?
And what do you do if you need to file something? (of course, you can simply step off…) In other words – are you thinking about setting up a row of files on one side?
This is very interesting, but, honestly, I prefer to get away from my desk whenever possible. I took up Spinning last November and I spin three times a week. It’s the best thing that happend to me lately 🙂
I burn over 3,000 calories a week (yes, I’m not exaggerating), I’m around people, I get to listen to good music and I exercise.
I’ve been using the treadmill as exercise since about February. For the last few weeks I’ve been doing language lessons on the laptop while walking. For the most part I really enjoy it. I certainly feel like I’m getting the most out of my time and making great progress in my study.
Post a picture…I’d love to see what this looks like.
@cbgrace, there’s a photo on the original post, here:
http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2008/05/07/a-hamster-wheel-with-e-mail-the-treadmill-desk/
@Gardenqueen, excellent point. Even if you can’t/don’t want to work at a treadmill desk, I think that most people can come up with a use for a treadmill other than just forcing yourself to walk on it for exercise. I’ve talked to people who walk while watching movies, talking on the phone, listening to books on tape, etc. I think the key is to associate walking with another activity so that you have multiple reasons to do it.
@MP, I do agree with you that getting out of the house to exercise is an excellent option if you actually do it, so congratulations on actually doing it! In my case, I find that a) my resolution to exercise every day turns into once or twice a week plus weekends and b) I actually enjoy the treadmill desk more than a chair (call me weird!). Thanks for your comment.
@JK, don’t worry; if you can’t ask personal questions of a blogger, of whom can you ask them? I’ve lost about half a pound a week, and that’s with no diet restrictions. I think that to achieve what some websites tout (i.e. lose 50 pounds a year with no changes in your diet), you have to either be totally inactive/very overweight to start out with, or use the ‘mill for very long hours every day. However I find that it’s helped my fitness level more than I would have thought. Give it a try!
@Milos, if I need to sit down, I have a couple of options. I either use my laptop and work at the kitchen table or I sit at the treadmill desk on a bar stool (I try to remember to turn the treadmill off first…). Either one works fine. The bar stool technique is probably not a good idea if you have an expensive treadmill, but mine was $125, so I’m not overly concerned with harming it. Thanks for your comment!
@KH, I don’t notice a productivity decline unless I’m really tired, then I take the hint and sit down (see response to comment above). I’ve also had a couple of people come try out the treadmill desk and they’ve all commented that typing at it (as I’m doing right now) is easier than they thought. Thanks for your comment!
Makes me want to try exercise.
Glad to see everyone is having such a good experience with their treadmill desk. It has worked well for me too but I must admit my ironing board across the handles approach leaves a little to be desire. I have my eye on the TrekDesk and espcially like their exercise ball chair for those moments I just want to sit. Found them at http://www.trekdesk.com and am anxiously awaiting their introduction.