Wednesday, July 22, 2009

My "Tread-Desk!"

Or maybe I should call it my "Treadesk?" Nah. Too hard to read. So here's what I rigged up as a treadmill desk for my laptop. "Rigged" being the operative word. Lotta bungee cords, I know!

I wish it were a little higher, for reading and typing comfort, but it's not bad, for free, compared to the cost of the ones I've head were designed by the May clinic.

The desk top is a length of left-over closet shelving. I set it at a slight angle, then ran two bungee cords from a wire in the middle of the shelf, up and over, to grab the backside of the treadmill's console. Then, to make sure the cord tension wouldn't make the whole think flip over, I also fastened the desk to each arm of the treadmill with small bungees.
Needed one more jury rig: a pair of thick, round, adhesive felt floor protectors I happened to have near the treadmill. The sort of things you stick to the bottom of kitchen chairs to keep them from marring the floor. I stuck the pads on the face of the console to keep the top of the desk, (the far edge from me when treading), from touching and accidentally activating the buttons. I stacked two on top of each other, like a pair of checkers that have been "kinged" on both sides. Don't want the desk to suddenly push a button and send me flying into the laundry room behind me! That almost happened when I was rigging it up, so I now wear the safety clip for quick stops, although I haven't had to use it since I raised the desk away from the buttons with those round floor protectors.

Also, using the wire shelving rather than a solid piece of wood allows me access to the buttons when I want to increase the speed, change the display, or whatever.

I've walked off 2 inches from my waist in the past 5 weeks, (yay!!!) so this will provide an additional way for me to walk when I'm trying to plead heat and humidity as an excuse not to walk.

It's also easy to disassemble the whole thing if my husband wants to use the treadmill.

Oh, and one other item I employed: A roll of that non-slip rubber you can buy at the dollar store. It works great to keep the laptop from slipping; it really feels quite secure. I rolled up the lower end, to raise the bottom of the laptop a bit, for better keyboard and screen position.

Kim