Staff Writer Alyse Rovner teaches you how to do your homework in style or I guess while in motion.  

Situated in the far right corner of the first floor of the Teacher’s College library are four treadmill desks. Upon first glance, these seemingly random pieces of exercise equipment can be viewed as pretty out of place or unnecessary. However, I now realize I was way too hasty to judge the TC treadmill desks.

I had always silently scorned those who ventured to these moving desks. Why in the world would someone want to exercise, an already strenuous task, while writing an essay or working on an econ problem set? After a moment of self-reflection, I realized I really shouldn’t knock it until I’ve tried it. Therefore, I made a plan to go try the desks out for myself.

I walked into the TC Library on a Sunday at around noon, bracing myself to try out the infamous treadmill desks. I even wore black leggings, an athletic shirt, and my best pair of running shoes just to ensure I’d give the treadmill desk the best shot that I could. To my pleasant surprise, all four treadmill desks were unoccupied, and I could choose anyone that I wanted. I chose the desk closest to the window because it had a nice view of 120th street and an elevated shelf that I could put my belongings on– it was also the one I felt most connected to. I laid out my papers and laptop on the elevated desk directly above the treadmill and latched the yellow safety emergency clip to my shirt. This was the moment of truth. I enthusiastically pressed the start button. 

My treadmill desk experience was off to a rough start: the treadmill stayed still. I tried again, this time holding the start button down for 10 seconds. The machine let out a stream of beeps, which I can only really describe as paralleling a soft fire alarm. This abrupt and jarring sound shattered the quiet concentration previously held in the library, causing a bunch of unsuspecting students around me to glare in disapproval at my inability to successfully start a treadmill. Nevertheless, in the name of student journalism, I REFUSED to give up trying. A librarian at the front desk kindly helped me–taking a break from her work to investigate the noise–and assured me that this was not my fault, however, it clearly was. The librarian dutifully restarted all the machines and insisted on helping me navigate the now seemingly simple controls. 

Determined to finish what I had started, I retook my place at the treadmill desk and set the speed to an easy 1 MPH to adjust to this new working environment. I started to write my essay and decided that I wanted to walk at a higher speed, now setting the machine to 2 MPH. This was the speed I ended up using for the entirety of my study session. The walking prohibited me from procrastinating and made me hyper-focused on my work; I didn’t pull out my phone once and worked consistently without interruption for an hour and a half. My homework distracted me from thinking about the walking I was doing and the walking made sure I stayed focused on my essay. After the hour and a half were up, I felt accomplished for having gotten a good chunk of my essay done and walking over 2.4 miles. Overall, I truly cannot recommend the treadmill desks enough.

Catch me writing my next Bwog post at one of the treadmill desks in TC!

desks crafted by the gods via baby bwogger