So I am writing this from the new walking desk setup. It’s the most redneck thing, but it’s working for comfortable keyboard height while walking, albeit at a slooow 1.3 mph currently. And it will be a heckuva workout if I do a lot of it, because I’m using a tread climber, which is basically a treadmill on an incline. It’s what we have working right now.
The First Reader and I were talking about it the other day. While I was in TX, Dorothy Grant showed me her walking desk, which is a much-converted treadmill and shelf-set that worked well for her. I didn’t want to convert our treadmill (which also isn’t set up yet as it needs a dedicated circuit wired for it.) or the tread climber, as a big reason we got them was for the Junior Mad Scientist to do PT on. So we were talking about how to put a support for a keyboard on, and what could be done to experiment so I could figure out if it worked for me.
What we wound up doing was clamping a spare floor board to the handrails of the treadclimber. The board allows me to walk on the available length of the treads – short Hobbit Legs, as I referenced in the MGC post – at a slower speed than I would use if I were working out. it’s not an ideal writing workspace, but it allows me to both excercise and work on my writing instead of trying to read (I can) or listen to music or podcasts which while easy aren’t as productive. So! 
This isn’t bad at all. Being on an incline, it’s surprisingly strenuous, but that’s great for cardio. Cardio and writing? Bonus. I usually only get that during really exciting scenes! Due to some recent health concerns, losing weight is a priority right now for me, and I’ve gotten that started through caloric restriction – intermittent fasting, largely, and reducing portions – but this will help take it to the next level. Ok, I’m trying to lose fat, not weight per se. I could take long walks in the woods with a recorder, as some other authors do, but the weather outside is frankly Teh suck today. Rain hovering on the brink of icing. Bleah. Our somewhat heated garage is ideal for working up a sweat.
and now, for writing! My thanks to the Gina Ninja for allowing me to rope her into taking a couple of photos of the writer in motion – terrible quality, but the light isn’t the bes and neither is the cell phone camera.
And now, I must go, I’m learning that about 500 words is when the hands get too sweaty to work the little keyboard without sticking and creating a ton of typos. Also, the Little Man wants my attention so we can build the bed of his dreams. Dude is seriously excited over furniture. Kids these days!
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9 responses to “Writing Walking Desk”
Excellent! Looking forward to pictures of the new bed, too!
That, sadly, will have to wait. We’ve learned that there were two beds with the same name at Ikea and we grabbed the wrong one last night. So I will take it back and get the correct one… but not today. Weather is getting worse. He’s devastated, poor guy. We’ll go tomorrow.
Neat, and sometimes ‘redneck’ is well enough. And that keyboard sure look familiar (but I suppose BT keyboards are almost ‘jelly beans’ by now…) What I am really wondering is… what word processor/text editor/whatever you use with that setup? I have a tablet & BT keyboard and want a word processor of some sort, but LibreOffice isn’t ready for prime time tablet usage and Microsoft products make my teeth itch.
So this is my ‘travel’ writing set-up that I now use primarily for writing. It’s an iPad, although any tablet will work, and a keyboard case – which is folded up and under in the photo. The keyboard is small. I can use it quite well, teh First Reader can’t. It took some practice for me to get comfy with it.
Word processor – well, this post was composed directly into the WordPress post editor box on Safari (any browser). If I am writing a more, well, composed essay, I write it like I do my fiction – in Google Docs. For final formatting I’ve been copy pasting fiction into MS Word, but will be attempting Libre Office soon, as I’m not renewing my Office 365 this year.
knee hurts just thinkin about it.
That would be a problem. Reducing impact on the knee would require water, and writing while in a pool or hot tub would be… interesting.
“writing while in a pool or hot tub would be… interesting.”
It might be good for your finances, though. It would increase your liquidity.
😉
LOL! I do believe you are incapable of resisting a pun. not that I’m complaining.
I’m afraid that concept won’t hold water.