Making it official: Standing desk beats the treadmill desk

Updated 10.2.2015
I have been a hug advocate of treadmill desks for a number of years now. I've written no fewer than ten pieces about treadmill or standing desks. More recently though, I've admitted that although I still use my treadmill desk, I've been using my standing desk a lot more. That's not because I prefer the standing desk, but rather because in the past six months my old treadmill has begun to show its age a bit more.

Specifically, it's getting progressively louder, which makes it difficult to concentrate. Yes, I could stop the treadmill and use it as a standing desk when I need to concentrate, but if that's the case I prefer to use the actual standing desk that is near a window so I can enjoy the natural lighting. My treadmill, as I've written previously is in my basement, a situation that can't be easily remedied. And even if I could get the treadmill up out of the basement it would still make too much noise.

I've been meaning to write this piece for some time. The overhaul and relaunch of the site took much longer than I intended, and most of it was done standing at my desk, rather than walking. Part of it was the concentration required, but it was also a matter of the manual dexterity needed to move the code around.

I haven't abandoned my treadmill desk, but there are now days when the only thing I use the treadmill for is my morning run. This makes me somewhat sad, but as I hope to greatly increase my written output here, I will get over it. So it's back to the beginning for me, because I began by simply standing up. If I could have a quieter treadmill desknear a window, then I'd still be using it. I'd stand when I needed to do so and keep walking otherwise. It's a goal for the future to get a treadmill actually designed to be used under a desk.

Standing desks in the news

This is a reasonable review of using a treadmill desk (which is after all, a type of standing desk. In it, the author is both realistic in how she begins to use it (not being extreme or expecting to use it all day or expecting to work up a sweat while doing so). However, she also notes the biggest obstacle to actually having a treadmill desk to use in an office, the cost. Professional treadmill desk (meaning those designed for offices) are very expensive. Sit-stand desks are also very expensive, and in most case become sit desks in too short a time. Even in this case, she has no intention of trying to work up to walking for a full day at work, which means either the desk needs to be shared among workers or it's not a cost effective piece of equipment. The price is too high to have it be idle for most of the day.

The cost, as well as the short duration use most people propose for it is another reason why I have stopped advocating for treadmill desks as the default in offices. Instead of a treadmill desks, I now advocate for a standing desk, because they are much cheaper. There is no question of noise, nor is there any question of inability to type or write as needed. This laptop deskis what I use as a standing desk, but this would be inadequate for most people.

Fashion is the least of my worries

And not just because I work from home. The New York Times recently reported that standing desks (not treadmill desks) were becoming fashionable. The actual story is about what to wear at a standing desk, but that’s a ridiculous concern. Beyond comfortable shoes, wear what you want. Of course, I'm of the generation which never considered underwear as optional business attire.

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