At the start of this lockdown, I had taken clear and deliberate actions (some of which I’m sure were borderline OCD) to make myself as ready and secure as possible for the uncertainty ahead. I feel that most things turned out exactly as planned, but I had severely underestimated the impacts of the long working hours out of my dining table.
By the end of week four, lower back pain had crippled in, and not even sleep, or yoga was able to shake it off.
At the time, with no quarantine end in sight, I decided to take some rapid decisions towards improving my work setup.
Considering the working hours, I felt that a more active setup was needed, so I opted for dual sit/standing setup. A quick and timely order to the local Ikea outlet on a Thursday say all delivered the next Monday.
Working standing has its own benefits, but I knew which missing item would take it to the next level towards a healthier and more effective work setup.
Indonesia is not the easiest place to order specific or latest tech gear, but the China proximity has its own advantages and in this case, without much fuzz, I quickly found out that the Xiaomi walking pad was available and ready for same-day delivery.
Xiaomi walking pad C1/A1 is an ultra-compact, low profile and foldable walking pad and after weeks using it, I have to say that it is a fantastic piece of tech and a game-changer when it comes to walking desks setups. The maximum pad velocity is 6km/h and has a manual and automatic walking mode.
All plugged in and ready, here is how the final setup of both the desk and walking work modes look like:
A couple of weeks into it, I noticed a couple of interesting changes:
- I feel more focused and aware of the meetings and work.
- I walk on average 10Km just during my morning or afternoon meetings.
- I feel more active, and my sleep has been consistently better on the days that I walk vs the days that I simply sit at the desk.
- I can work at higher speeds, 4,5 Km/h now vs 3km/h when it arrived
The new setup, and of course the bouncing Pedro on the remote calls triggered multiple conversations and side queries. By now, there are five friends and colleagues who join the movement by getting themselves a similar walking desk setup.