Wednesday 22 April 2015

Walking while working - Nicola Morgan

Big apologies - I have reposted this from my own blog, mainly because I only realised last night that I have to do my ABBA post but also because it's VERY relevant to writers...

A few weeks ago, I joined the band of people who work while walking. I type and do almost all my desk work while walking on a treadmill. It has been eye-opening, body changing and inspiring. And unexpected in some ways. Here’s what happened and what it is like.

Over the last year, I’ve been reading a lot about the health dangers of being too sedentary and not doing enough exercise. And I am (was) very sedentary. My desk work and my workaholic personality kept me rooted to my chair for hours and hours on end. It didn’t feel good but I couldn’t stop.

About a year ago, I bought a Fitbit One, to inspire myself to walk more. Although this helped at first, somewhat, there were two problems for me: 1) I was still a workaholic and still needed/wanted to get a lot of work done so I was still staying at my desk too long and 2) I have an arthritic and cartilage-wrecked knee which has been getting worse and which doesn’t like the manic walking pace that I do, partly in my effort to get the damn walking done as fast as possible and partly because it’s just a Type A personality thing. Walking on roads is painful and walking on hills very. Cycling, too.

So, I decided to deal with this sedentariness properly.

I knew that a friend of mine, Vee Frier, used a treadmill set-up, so I got her advice. I am not sure if I have the same setup but it’s the same principle.

(Warning, my solution is not cheap. But it’s tax deductible!)

I ordered this special desk to go on my desk to make it the height for standing at; and a treadmill especially designed for the purpose, because it’s slim, fits under a desk and goes more slowly than a gym one. And has no incline.

The desk arrived first and as soon as I started working at it, I hated it. (Fear not: this has a happy outcome.) It was extremely painful and my knee reacted disastrously. In the nearly three weeks before the treadmill arrived, I thought I’d made an expensive mistake. I was already wondering if I’d be able to send the treadmill and the desk back.

The treadmill arrived and I switched it on. Hooray! It didn’t work! Excellent! I could send it back.

Then I realised I’d misread the instructions and put the magnetic safety doobry on the wrong bit. As soon as I rectified this, the machine sprang into life. Unfortunately, I was kneeling on it at the time, fiddling with things, and – trust me – this is not a position you want to be in when a treadmill springs into life or anywhere.

The second thing I discovered was that it was NOISY. Hooray! A reason to send it back!

However, I am not faint-hearted so I duly lugged it up to my garden office, with the help of Mr M (I’m as strong as he is but it’s always good to give him a task). And left it there over the weekend while I dreaded Monday.

Monday came and I hobbled up the garden to my fate.

And walked for 3 hours at 2mph. With no pain. Gently lulled by the swooshing noise in the background. While typing. And concentrating unusually well on my work. With ideas pouring from my brain and onto the keyboard.

I also realised I loved the desk thing, too. It’s quite big and also sturdy. I can have my keyboard, laptop, mouse, notebooks, and COFFEE.

Thus began my personal revolution. Three weeks later, my knee is bearing up, I’ve walked between 12k and 20k steps each day (whereas on some previous days I’d be doing fewer than 1k) and I’ve lost 4lbs (which could also be the sugar I’ve given up, though I ate very little of it before). I’ve discovered that 2.5mph is the ideal speed for me while typing and it’s a speed I can walk at without thinking about walking. It’s much slower than my outdoor walking pace, and I think this is why it’s good for my knee – it’s motion without so much flipping force.

More to the point, I LOVE walking while working. I’ve
always found walking a great way of loosening my creative brain and freeing up ideas but how very much more convenient it is to do that while actually at the screen!

It feels very good in every way.

It’s very easy to put it on its side out of the way if I actually want to sit down.

Btw, can you see the odd thing under the upper desk? With a red button on it? That’s the console, where you adjust the speed and things. And there’s a red cord, which you are supposed to clip to your belt, with a red magnet at the other end, attached to the console. *cough* I erm, don’t… This is so that if you faint and fall off, the treadmill will stop.

I’ve only fallen off once and that was because I tried to turn round and pick something up. (Don’t do this, really. Especially while holding coffee.) Several friends sent me videos of people breakdancing on treadmills. That’s a trick for the future…

I have found another advantage: all this walking makes me feel nice and warm so, though I’m using some electricity for the treadmill (500W at the most) I don’t need a heater any more. In fact, I’m working with the door open a lot of the time.

It's the best of every world. I'm often reluctant to recommend things, as I know everyone's different, but if you're thinking about doing this - do!

19 comments:

Stroppy Author said...

Wow! Amazing success. Wish I could do this (but chances with a microbint crawling onto the treadmill every few mins are very low).

Nicola Morgan said...

Indeed. You know what they say about never working with children and animals... :)

Lari Don said...

Brilliant blog. Made me feel just the right ratio of guilty for not walking enough while working to deadlines and inspired to look for solutions. Thanks!

Heather Dyer said...

What a fantastic idea. I bet we'll develop them so that we can can power the computer as we walk. Brilliant. I bet it does wonders for your health - we were designed to be walking all day, after all.

Kathryn Evans said...

I've done it! Ordered one - I can't sit down, too much back pain, actually really looking forward to moving ( I also find walkign unlocks soemthing in my brain!)

Joan Lennon said...

Bravo!

Emma Barnes said...

Terrific post, Nicola! Do they come with mini treadmills so that the dog can keep me company?

Susan Price said...

Thank you for this. I'd never heard of this kind of treadmill. I'm seriously thinking of giving it a go.

Tamsyn Murray said...

This is fantastic! Thanks, Nicola.

Penny Dolan said...

This walking working sounds really interesting but to me it has a scary touch of those "rub your tum and pat your head at the same time but in opposite directions" skill sets, which I can never do. It would be good to try this out for a while without commitment.

Please don't worry about re-using such an excellent post. Nicola. Glad you did!

Nicola Morgan said...

Penny, trust me: if it was a complex multi-tasking brain process, i would NOT be able to do it! I have a brain that cannot do two things at once - eg make a cup of coffee while talking to someone - and I am VERY very uncoordinated. But if you can walk while thinking or talking, you can do this, honestly. It's easier than real walking because you don't have to look where you're going or mind where you put your feet.

Nicola Morgan said...

Emma - no! ;)

Savita Kalhan said...

You've sold it! I want one too!

Clémentine Beauvais said...

Brilliant, and motivating.

Clémentine Beauvais said...

Brilliant, and motivating.

Helen - Fennell Books said...

I have a standing desk and love it. It makes so much difference to my posture and my productivity. As for walking, there is nothing better. I have all my best ideas when I am out walking.

Dianne Hofmeyr said...

Great idea! Only trouble in my small shared workspace, my husband would be forced to walk on it as well! Might just try the standing option.

Nicola Morgan said...

Diane, my office is tiny - 3m x 2m - and the treadmill takes no more room than the chair did, as 1/3 of the treadmill is under the desk and the rest takes up pretty much exactly the space my chair+my legs did.

Liz Kessler said...

Nicola, I'd been wondering how this was going. Your blog has convinced me. Thank you so much fir sharing. Am off to check out their website...