My new treadmill desk (or, how I became a handywoman)
A while back, Chris Gammell got me thinking about standing while working. A short while after he made this post, I got a new computer, and I discovered that my chest of drawers was the right height for me to stand while working on my computer. I endeavored to do so.
However, I moved to a new abode over the summer, and my chest of drawers cannot be made to fit through the bedroom door because of a nice right turn in the hallway. Due to my incessant collecting of books (and hence bookshelves), I have no place else to put it.
However, I have to do something. In an average day, I can categorize my activities as sedentary or not-sedentary.
Things that are mostly sedentary:
-Reading books or papers
-Writing paper or emails
-Programming a computer
-Schoolwork
-Sitting in a classroom while people lecture at me
-Grading
Things that are not sedentary:
-Walking around a classroom in order to talk with students
-Walking on my treadmill while I watch DVDs
As you can tell, this is not good. I'm sure most people who work in an office or program computers understand. On the other hand, I feel like I have so much to do most days that the last item (walking on my treadmill) is not something I can easily take the time to do.
Or can I?
I decided that I have to find a way to move while working. I have come up with two solutions.
The first is a pedal exerciser with a laptop caddy. I bought the pedal exerciser with the intention of putting it under my desk while working. No dice. I couldn't find a chair low enough that I could see the items on my desk without banging my knees on the bottom of my desk. I kept wondering what else I could use, and I remember having those funky tables they use in the hospital that slide under the hospital bed and over your lap. After some searching around, the laptop caddy seemed like the most affordable solution. UPS is bringing it to me as we speak.
I came across another idea this past weekend: a treadmill desk. This idea is being pioneered by Dr. James Levine of Mayo Clinic. The idea is that you do work while walking for long periods at an extremely slow pace. When I came across the idea, I was in Fargo, while my treadmill is in Minneapolis. I tried mentally imagining how I'd put a desk on there, and it seemed like it would require a bit of work. I was fairly sure the arms on my treadmill would be too high to make a suitable desk. I was right, but when I got home, I looked at it carefully:
The one thing I'd forgotten is that there is a bar across the front, between the arms. That bar, I realized would make a perfect brace, while the console would work as a counterweight for a desk.
I ran to Home Depot, realizing I could make myself a treadmill desk on the cheap, and I could do it without any major tools. I came home with the following items:
The white board is a shelf covered in white laminate. I also purchased a pair of mounting straps (you can find these in plumbing or electrical as they're used to secure pipes and conduit), a foam elbow, 4 #10x1/2" screws, and some #10 washers. I cut the elbow into three pieces: 2 cylinders and the corner. I put the cylinders around the bar and then the strap over that. I figured out where I wanted my shelf to sit and then marked where the strap holes were. I then measured where the second sets of holes should be the make the long edge of the desk sit parallel to the bar. All I had was a screwdriver, so I started all of the holes while the shelf was sitting on the table. I then had the older boy hold it for me while I anchored it to the treadmill using one washer and a screw in each hole. The bottom looked like this:
When you let the desk lay down, it is sloped downward, so I put some 3/4" wide by 7/16" high weather stripping along the bottom. (I couldn't find anything fancier.)
It's just shy of fitting a piece of paper, so it should work okay for grading.
I also figured I could put my computer on there. It sits at the wrong angle, however, so I used a roll of non-skid shelf-liner under the front:
You'll notice that I'm slightly paranoid about something happening to my computer, so I also have a loop of green cotton string as a backup in case something slips. (That was there before as I would set my computer on the console to watch DVDs while walking.)
The best part is that I can still fold up the treadmill with the desk attached:
All told, the cost was less than $15.
I would like to say I'm typing this as I'm walking, but I'm not coordinated enough for that, yet.
However, I'd like to think that Bob the Builder and Wendy would be proud.
However, I moved to a new abode over the summer, and my chest of drawers cannot be made to fit through the bedroom door because of a nice right turn in the hallway. Due to my incessant collecting of books (and hence bookshelves), I have no place else to put it.
However, I have to do something. In an average day, I can categorize my activities as sedentary or not-sedentary.
Things that are mostly sedentary:
-Reading books or papers
-Writing paper or emails
-Programming a computer
-Schoolwork
-Sitting in a classroom while people lecture at me
-Grading
Things that are not sedentary:
-Walking around a classroom in order to talk with students
-Walking on my treadmill while I watch DVDs
As you can tell, this is not good. I'm sure most people who work in an office or program computers understand. On the other hand, I feel like I have so much to do most days that the last item (walking on my treadmill) is not something I can easily take the time to do.
Or can I?
I decided that I have to find a way to move while working. I have come up with two solutions.
The first is a pedal exerciser with a laptop caddy. I bought the pedal exerciser with the intention of putting it under my desk while working. No dice. I couldn't find a chair low enough that I could see the items on my desk without banging my knees on the bottom of my desk. I kept wondering what else I could use, and I remember having those funky tables they use in the hospital that slide under the hospital bed and over your lap. After some searching around, the laptop caddy seemed like the most affordable solution. UPS is bringing it to me as we speak.
I came across another idea this past weekend: a treadmill desk. This idea is being pioneered by Dr. James Levine of Mayo Clinic. The idea is that you do work while walking for long periods at an extremely slow pace. When I came across the idea, I was in Fargo, while my treadmill is in Minneapolis. I tried mentally imagining how I'd put a desk on there, and it seemed like it would require a bit of work. I was fairly sure the arms on my treadmill would be too high to make a suitable desk. I was right, but when I got home, I looked at it carefully:
The one thing I'd forgotten is that there is a bar across the front, between the arms. That bar, I realized would make a perfect brace, while the console would work as a counterweight for a desk.
I ran to Home Depot, realizing I could make myself a treadmill desk on the cheap, and I could do it without any major tools. I came home with the following items:
The white board is a shelf covered in white laminate. I also purchased a pair of mounting straps (you can find these in plumbing or electrical as they're used to secure pipes and conduit), a foam elbow, 4 #10x1/2" screws, and some #10 washers. I cut the elbow into three pieces: 2 cylinders and the corner. I put the cylinders around the bar and then the strap over that. I figured out where I wanted my shelf to sit and then marked where the strap holes were. I then measured where the second sets of holes should be the make the long edge of the desk sit parallel to the bar. All I had was a screwdriver, so I started all of the holes while the shelf was sitting on the table. I then had the older boy hold it for me while I anchored it to the treadmill using one washer and a screw in each hole. The bottom looked like this:
When you let the desk lay down, it is sloped downward, so I put some 3/4" wide by 7/16" high weather stripping along the bottom. (I couldn't find anything fancier.)
It's just shy of fitting a piece of paper, so it should work okay for grading.
I also figured I could put my computer on there. It sits at the wrong angle, however, so I used a roll of non-skid shelf-liner under the front:
You'll notice that I'm slightly paranoid about something happening to my computer, so I also have a loop of green cotton string as a backup in case something slips. (That was there before as I would set my computer on the console to watch DVDs while walking.)
The best part is that I can still fold up the treadmill with the desk attached:
All told, the cost was less than $15.
I would like to say I'm typing this as I'm walking, but I'm not coordinated enough for that, yet.
However, I'd like to think that Bob the Builder and Wendy would be proud.