Why I will not be killing my treadmill desk

It happened today. I sat down in my elevated desk chair, in front of my elevated desk (probably about four, four and a half feet off the floor) and pulled out my retractable keyboard rest and began working at my computer. And I thought, "Now this is what I wanted."

Getting here has taken time. Years, really. I always said, while stuck at my stationary desk in my old apartment that my next desk would be a treadmill. So when we moved, I got rid of the big hutch desk and plunked down a fair amount of money for a desk that would rise and lower to be either seated or standing. It arrived in November, and I've used it most every day since.

A treadmill desk is, without question, a conversation piece. Tell folks you have one and there's a lift of the eyebrow, a "really?" that's a terrific blend of "that sounds like fun I'd like to try it for a day" and "that is probably not for me no matter how neat it sounds."

In my case, I am the convert I expected to be. That doesn't mean it's a perfect mechanism. And to me, alternating between walking (I average 3-4 hours a day, 2 miles an hour), standing and sitting is crucial. You can't really get away with just doing one: Sitting gets really tough after a while, and standing is no good for long periods — I tried just standing with my laptop resting on my dresser for a time in the old apartment, and while the height was good, after an hour or so it's tough on the body to stand more or less in one place. And walking, walking is good for a lot of things but not for actual concentrated writing — so I sit for that. It's about variety, and with my one desk, I'm getting it.

Which is why an article like "Why I Killed My Standing Desk" is irritating. It does provide good options for people who can't stand/walk at their desks to keep moving, so that's useful. But the author posits it as an all-or-nothing proposition: I couldn't stand at my desk forever, ergo standing desks are a bad idea. Dumb.All that said, getting to this point with my treadmill desk has been a bit of a learning curve. A dynamic desk, full of items that are not necessarily meant to move or shift, means you need to adjust. Wires? They'll have to stretch. I have my computer tower under the desk, next to the modem, next to the treadmill, so that helps but then you need to make sure you don't kick the computer accidentally. (The other day my computer kicked back; I gouged the side of my foot on a sharp bit.) And when the desk rises or sinks, at least in my case, you have to compensate for the descending legs, which are a shell over the inner, narrower ones — you don't want to lower the desk onto equipment, slippers, toes, etc.But I'm learning. We're learning, the desk and me. And for now, I can't imagine having it any other way. Well, maybe I can: I could use a larger office. This thing is a monster!