Walking pad under a standing desk: does anyone actually keep using it?

I sit for nine hours a day and my step count is embarrassing. Walking pads are all over my feed. Before I spend the money: is this something people keep using after the first month, and can you actually type while walking?

I have clients who use one every day and clients whose pad became a very expensive doormat. The difference is not willpower, it is setup.

• Keep it under the desk permanently. If you have to drag it out, you will not.
• Walk slow while typing: 2 to 3 km/h. That is a stroll, and after a week your hands stop noticing it. Bump it to 4 to 5 km/h during calls and reading.
• Check the weight rating and the belt width. Cheap pads have narrow belts that make you walk with your feet in a line.
• Noise: anything under about 50 dB is fine on calls. Ask for a video with sound before buying.
• Wear shoes. Socks on a belt for two hours is a blister factory.
• Most manuals want the belt lubricated every 40 to 50 km. It takes a minute and it stops the squeak.

Realistic outcome: an extra 3,000 to 6,000 steps on a work day without thinking about it. That is not a training session, but it is exactly the kind of low-effort movement that actually sticks.

Honest answer from someone eight months in: I used it daily for the first three months, then mostly during meetings and while reading documents. That is still an hour or two a day, which is more than the zero I had before. Jonas is right about the permanent spot; the day I moved mine to make room for a chair was the day the streak ended.