Treadmill Desk: Make Millions and write more!

Well okay, you won't make millions.

But about a month ago I became a geeky treadhead. Yep, I'm officially one of those people who uses a treadmill desk. I'd read about Dr. James Levine from the Mayo Clinic whose theory was that we humans are designed to be upright and walking for most of the day. So he developed a treadmill desk (here's a video from Good Morning America about it):





Since I, as a writer, tend to sit for hours and hours and hours, this idea of a treadmill desk kept coming back to me. Finally, I decided to take the plunge. Dr. Levine's desk is $4500 or more, so I frugally made my own (for about $500). I'd read about home built treadmill desks (just Google "treadmill desk" if you want to learn more about treadheads) and followed several fine examples (here's a great blog). I bought a Tempo Evolve treadmill from Canadian Tire, and, oddly enough, the arms on it were perfect for attaching a shelf. It runs quietly and fits nicely into my office. Here's me walking and writing at the same time (no juggling though):




Anyway, I've been using the desk for 25 days straight now. I walk at 1.6 KPH (1 MPH) and do all of my writing, web surfing, gaming, and other work (really gaming is work, kind of) on the treadmill desk. When I talk on the phone, no one notices that I'm walking because my treadmill is so quiet and I'm moving so slow (so I don't sound like a breathless maniac). I've kept track of my "walking" time and my calorie intake (also known as eating) on a website called The Daily Plate which has been very handy. I've walked 83.9 kms (52 miles) in 25 days, averaging 3.3kms (2.05 miles) a day. I've lost 3.17 kg (7 lbs). Yes, I have charts and all sorts of data tracking. I'm a geek. I admit it.

The drawbacks? A bit of soreness in the hip occasionally and some neck pain (I seem to have the monitor in the right place now).

Many people with treadmill desks pick a virtual destination and walk towards it (say a trip across America). Me, I decided to walk across Alexander the Great's empire (yes, I just saw the movie).


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Anyway, this new way of writing is working for me. I certainly am feeling a lot healthier and, oddly enough, I spend more time walking outside instead of driving my car. Now if I could only get my treadmill to power my computer...

Art

Two Headed Edits

2head
Originally uploaded by Arthur Slade

Ah, I just finished the last revision for The Hunchback Assignments. It was a curious process this time because I was working on the copy edits from both my American and Canadian publishers. I placed them side by side and went through them page by page. It made me feel a little two headed.

I discovered that if both copy editors saw a sentence or a situation as confusing, I knew that I should change it. But if one copy editor pointed some change out that I didn't agree with I'd check the other copy editor's notes. I felt like I had someone on my side. Then again, at other times I felt like they were ganging up on me (can two copy editors be a gang?). One used a green pencil, the other a red pencil, so I made my marks in a purple pencil. The book looked like a Christmas tree! One liked using Post it notes. There's nothing more exciting than a manuscript decorated with Post it Notes! Whew, at least most of the questions were easy to answer. And none of the notes said, "nice try, but why don't you just start the novel over again?"

Did I mention whew!? It's out of my hands now. Until the galleys come back that is....

Art