2 . As my head moved up and down on the Zoom screen, private messages poured in from my colleagues: “What are you doing there?” “Are you sitting on a ball?” “Are you walking?” I could feel their eyes on me — inquiring, interested, confused. Clearly, this wasn’t a normal faculty meeting. I replied I was walking on my new under desk treadmill (跑步机).

I didn’t have to worry about workday inactivity earlier in my career. As a graduate student and postdoc, I went on frequent field excursions to collect soil samples in remote places. The fieldwork was physically challenging, a contrast to the lab tasks and desk work that were also part of my job. But when I became a professor, fieldwork became a rarity.

During the pandemic the situation grew worse. My schedule filled up with one online meeting or seminar after the next. And I “traveled” to them without leaving my desk. Although I had the luxury of a height-adjustable desk, which gave me the option to stand, I still felt unbalanced, and I began to experience back pain.

At home, I’d occasionally tried to work on my wife’s treadmill, which I’d repurposed by putting a wooden board across the handles and my laptop on top. I thought that might be just what I needed in my campus office, so I bought a treadmill designed to go under a desk. I decided to spend my entire workday on the treadmill. It took me several days to adjust, but I eventually got the hang of typing and speaking while walking.

When I’m at my desk, I spend nearly all of my working hours in motion. In the first couple of weeks, I was a bit exhausted when I got home at night. But over time, I developed more endurance. My back pain disappeared and I came to enjoy the time at my desk.

Most of the scientists I work with have sent me reassuring feedback. Some have even bought treadmills of their own. That has made me view my walking as a way to silently communicate a crucial message to my colleagues: There’re always ways to stay active if you want!