Now

Location

About 1,5 years ago we moved to our new home in Dubbeldam (Dordrecht). It’s been quite a big project to get it ready. We bought it in September, and finally were forced to move (because the previous house was sold) in May. It’s one of those houses that’s 50 years old, and not had much work done since it was built initially, so we basically did everything. Strip all the whole thing, tear down walls, build new walls, raised ceilings, added insulation, added a dormer, renewed all the electricity, we even ripped out the whole heating system and had 100 meter long pipes drilled into the driveway for a full electric heat pump with geothermal source. It’s liveable now (and we love the extra space that it gave us, kids having their own room, and both of us having our own office), but there’s still a list of projects we’re chipping away at from time to time.

Life

Job

During the day, I’m working as a product manager for Leave Dates. On a daily basis, I’m in touch with developers, customers, and other stakeholders. I’m responsible to figure out how exactly to shape the product, and ensure a good product/market fit.

Leisure

Let’s be honest, as a parent (with young children) weekends don’t really belong to you. I don’t really have much of a hobby right now, we mostly spend time with the kids. Sometimes I get to work on some home improvement projects.

I do try to prioritise working out. If possible (which isn’t always), I’d love to do something daily. Mainly (cardio)boxing. It’s not real martial arts, but close enough, and their schedule is pretty generous so I can easily find a slot that works. Besides that I will also join CrossFit, Hyrox, and strength classes. When I can’t make it to the gym, I have quite a nice set-up at home, and I’ll try to fit in an X3 or Isobar session. With a couple of friends, we’ve signed up for a 16km Mud Masters event sometime next summer, so we’ll have a goal to strive for.

Focus

Besides work, my main focus is health related. I have some extra kg of body fat that I’d like to get rid of. I enjoy working out, but clearly that’s not enough. So I’ve been playing around with actually dieting (Slow Carb diet, by Tim Ferriss). Somehow I need to find ways to add more movement into my days as well, working from home is great, but it’s hard getting 10.000 steps.

Last updated: November 2025 - This page has been inspired by nownownow. More about Niels.