My Coronavirus Survival Strategy? Treadmill Desk.

Because I am a human who lives on Earth, my city has been affected by the coronavirus. On March 18th, 2020, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka put the city on lock down. Okay, so we’re not exactly imprisoned and his measures weren’t completely insane. But many businesses are closed, an 8 p.m. curfew was imposed, and people are generally encouraged to stay home as much as possible.

These may be perfectly prudent public health measures. But had they been put in place a couple months ago I would have had a major meltdown. Walking is one of the most effective therapies I’ve found and being confined to the house would be a form of torture.

Long walks outside are not a cool thing to do these days. I’ve gone on a few short walks (out of necessity, since I can’t drive anywhere) since the coronavirus scare started, and the streets and sidewalks were eerily desolate. I never thought I’d worry about empty streets since Newark is far too big and crowded for my tastes. But this was a worrisome kind of empty. On the few occasions when I passed another person we’d eye each other warily and keep a wide berth.

So like most people, I keep myself confined to quarters. At least I have my one-month-old treadmill desk to keep me company.

When I count my blessings, that treadmill desk is at the top of the list. Not only can I walk inside the house, I can walk and work at the same time. I feel like I’ve found the secret to time travel because I get so much more done in a day.

Assembling my treadmill desk was an undertaking, but that was my husband’s headache and not my own (marriage is great). Now that it’s assembled and properly configured (I think) the only problem is that it keeps tripping the breaker.

I am now going to go down that rabbit hole for the benefit of anyone who may be considering a treadmill desk for themselves.

I have zero knowledge of how electricity works, but lately I’ve been motivated to research this one particular problem. I’ve confirmed that I’m using a surge protector that meets the requirements in the owner’s manual, and I’ve moved all other electronics to another circuit. That’s helped, but it still trips the breaker from time to time.

For now, it’s an annoyance I can live with. I just need to run down to the basement a couple times a day. Once this coronavirus scare has passed and shopping becomes feasible again, I’ll try a new surge protector. The last thing I need is for my new best friend to die on me. Especially while we’re all still living in a real-life game of “Pandemic.”

Okay, tangent over.

I dragged my feet about getting a treadmill desk for a surprisingly long time before I decided to take the plunge. I was worried that it would generate too much heat, be too difficult to assemble, and would take up too much space.

Before moving to Newark, I lived in an area that had some nice outdoor spaces to walk in and truth be told, I rather liked having an excuse to unplug and go outside each day. Part of me was afraid that if I had a treadmill desk I would never be able to tear myself away from work.

It took a change in circumstances to convince me to change my mind. Now I live in a house with air conditioning(!) and a reasonable amount of space, and I no longer work at my old job. My treadmill desk went from being optional to a necessity in a surprisingly short amount of time.