Are you sitting me? My Ikea treadmill desk hack

“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” Friedrich Nietzsche

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My new Ikea treadmill standing desk

When I heard that sitting was the new smoking I got really annoyed. I quit smoking 4 years ago and it was really difficult. How the hell am I going to quit sitting?

I’ve been worried about the effect of all those long hours of retouching files is having on my body. I also felt really tired and sore after a session and decided to do something about it. This newsletter is currently being written from my treadmill desk.

I’ve been researching this for the past couple of months and thanks to a few geniuses on the interwebs and Ikea (where dreams come true) I’ve managed to McGyver something together that I’m pretty happy with, in fact I fricken love it!

Typing and walking is something I’ve already mastered thanks to my iPhone and a social media addiction so it’s not that much of a stretch to master the art of typing while on a treadmill.

I’ve been wanting a new workspace for a while now and this is the perfect solution for me

I decided to go big because I like to spread myself out and wanted space for two work stations: one sitting/standing option for high pressure intense do-my-head-in photo manipulation work and the treadmill desk section for writing, emails and hack work retouching.

I have to say that I’m surprised by how easy it is to work and walk and how much easier it is to get in a creative zone. I’ve read several different reports that peak creativity (you know those aha moments as you’re about to fall asleep or in the shower or jogging) happens because we’ve managed to just distract the thinking organiser logical part of the brain long enough for the dreamer, creative, genius part of the brain to get a word in. The end result is you become more creative. Pretty cool, huh?

So after a week working at my treadmill desk I’ve managed to get in an average of 3-4 hours a day of extra walking at a pace of 1.5kms (0.93 miles per hour) I feel more energised at the end of the day, sleep better and am more creative.

If you’re interested, here is how I did it

Before I started, I spent a couple of weeks researching other blogs with treadmill desk hacks. Here are my two favorites:

[Ikea Hack] Standing Desk Treadmill Desk Part 2

“The Spaceship” 2.0

Materials

1x treadmill. The best kinds have easily removeable consoles. There are plenty available second hand for $50-$100

I’ve used a Lifespan basic treadmill that I bought online for $300. It arrived in two pieces. I simply removed the console from the treadmill by unscrewing it from the arm rests. It was really easy. I then placed the console on the shelf under my desk so I can turn the treadmill on or off and control the speed.

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My Lifespan treadmill arrived in two separate sections which made it really easy to convert.

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The console connects to the main treadmill by a single cable making it very easy to disconnect.

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My treadmill console sits on a shelf just under my desk.

The desk is made from the following Ikea products:

2 x Billy bookcases ( I already had these)

3 x Finnvard Trestle Legs

2 x LINNMON table tops

I’d already worked out everything I needed before I got to Ikea but the sheer volume of choice completely overwhelmed me and I changed my mind three times finally settling on the above.

The bookshelves were are afterthought. I’m so glad I added them in. Now I have somewhere to store all my guff, hard drives and secret stash of Nutella.

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About Gina

About Gina

Gina Milicia is one of the most widely known and respected photographers in Australia. She is the master of capturing that ‘magical moment’... READ MORE

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