I took my maiden voyage on my DIY treadmill desk last night and thought you might want a report on whether it worked or not.

Statistics:

Time: 78 minutes

Distance: 1.9 miles

Speed: 1.2 – 1.5 mph

Words written: 1,063

Calories burned: 235

Notes:

I got so lost in the story, I forgot I was walking until about 55 minutes had passed, at which point I realized I was actually tired.  So I took a short break to watch a snippet of “Mad Men” with Handsome Husband.  Then I got back on the treadmill to finish writing the scene.

I started at 1.2 mph, got used to it, decided it was too slow, and upped my pace to 1.5 mph.  I hear most folks top out at 2.0 mph, so that’s my goal.

Typing while walking was no problem at all.  Mouse-ing was more of a challenge. First, the mouse tends to waltz off the keyboard tray when I start typing.  So I have to move it up to the desk when I’m not using it. Second, the cursor requires precise positioning on the screen which is not so easy when you’re in full stride. When I finished typing for the night, I admit to turning the treadmill off so I could do all my document saving procedures from a stationary position.  However, I am sure I’ll perfect mobile mouse-ing with practice.

I drank a lot of water while write-walking.  Good thing I have a refrigerator in the basement!

My productivity was high while walking.  Of course, I was in the middle of a very hot scene between my hero and heroine in THE PLACE I BELONG, so that may have sharpened my focus.  Walking has always helped me think though, so I figure the motion itself contributes to brain activity.

The Preliminary Verdict:

The Treadmill Desk looks like it will be good for me both on the exercise and productivity fronts.  It’s nice to have another place set up to work too, just for variety’s sake.  I use Dropbox to save my documents so it’s easy to pick up where I left off, no matter which computer I’m working on.  The wonders of modern technology!

Now if it helps me lose weight, I will be totally in love with it.