Since moving to the suburbs, I’ve found myself sitting more than normal. In the City, when I needed a mid-day break (or wanted lunch), I’d walk two blocks over and find myself in the middle of Clement Street – the land of cheap Chinese food, cute cafes, and boutiques. Here, I walk two blocks and see…more houses and deer.
My body does not like sitting all day long and even though I run and lift weights daily, my lower back and hip have been aching. To combat this, I decided to build a DIY treadmill desk and turned to Google. I found this version and thought it looked manageable. Since I already own a much used and very loved treadmill, the cost to build my desk was only $17.46. It took all of ten minutes to assemble.
SUPPLIES: One board cut to the appropriate size, four eyehooks, two bungie cords that will stretch kitty-corner on your board (mine are 36-inches).
STEP ONE: This is my treadmill. Notice the straight arms? Your treadmill must have straight arms for this to work.
The treadmill
STEP TWO: Measure the outside distance between the arms and add two inches. This is the length of the board you’ll need. For example, my outer arms measured 34″ but I bought a board that was 12-inches wide by 36-inches long by 1-inch deep.
STEP THREE: With a drill, drill four pilot holes – two on each end of the board at the corners (My drill was stolen during our move, so I did this step by hand. It takes longer, but can be done. Just be careful not to crack your wood).
The eyehook drilled into the corner.
STEP FOUR: Lay the board across the arms.
STEP FIVE: It’s bungie time!
My fancy bondage-esque bungie cords.
Stretch the cord from the upper left to the lower right and the second one in the opposite direction. You’ll end up with an X across the bottom of the board.
STEP SIX: Put your laptop on the board, fire up the treadmill and you’re ready to go! I have enough space on each side for a notebook, my phone, and other supplies.
The completed project with my 13-inch MacBook Pro.
I wrote this post while walking at a very easy 1.8. I normally run 10 minute miles, so 1.8 feels like crawling to me, but it does allow me to type without much bouncing. Also, it took me longer to write this post than build the desk 😀
This is what passed for a wild Saturday night this weekend: green tea, banana bread, and a stack of revision notes. Bet you’re jealous!
Every time I write a book, the part I dread most – after drafting, because really, drafting is a special type of hell – is formatting. Before I start writing, I set the formatting so that I won’t have pesky tab stops or weird page breaks, and yet, they always show up. WHY? Why does the universe hate me? *insert dramatic flop onto chaise lounge*
However, I’m proud to say that this time I managed to format my book in under an hour AND the eARCs have started going out.
Hmmm…maybe I lied. This is the part I hate most – waiting to see what the world thinks of my characters and their lives.
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