This was 2018

Christmas is already over, and New Year’s Eve is approaching quickly. It’s time to look back on the past year and cautiously look ahead to 2019. This was my 2018.

Personally

Last year, we got the idea to live differently: to exchange our apartment in the city for a house with a garden. We would like more space and a location that is within cycling distance of the city (that’s what we call Groningen here).

In November, we signed for a new construction home in the Tersluis neighborhood in Meerstad. It is just outside the city, about 8 kilometers from the center. It’s a spacious home in the middle of green countryside. Of course, it’s earthquake-resistant, gas-free, and equipped with a heat pump. It will still take a while before the house is ready, but the anticipation is no less exciting.

At the end of next year, we will put our apartment on the market at the edge of Helpman! 2018 was also the year when Gunny and Amos came to live with us, two lovely cats, each with their own strong will. It’s funny to see how your life changes with two little troublemakers.

In 2018, I also kept up with my workouts at Plaza Sportiva. I did this alone, together, but mostly with Martijn. He is an excellent trainer who helps me master all those complicated fitness moves, and of course, he is my motivator.

I also like to experiment with food. Last year, I tasted veganism and the keto diet. I also started intermittent fasting, which involves shortening the time frame during which you eat.

Business

One of the goals I had for last year was to find a better balance between work and personal life. That worked out well; I almost no longer work on weekends and can exercise during the day if I want to. I notice that this gives me much more focus and energy during the day to work on various projects.

Onlineincasso.nl

At the beginning of this year, I worked with the Payt team on rebranding their online collection platform. We worked a few half-days internally and a few at the office. It was a fun project where we split Payt’s platform into debtor management and collections.

Payt

On a weekly basis, I helped Payt last year with design and technology. Together with the Content Leaders and Aan Zet communications teams, we worked hard on Payt’s online proposition. It was great to be part of this adventure. For 2019, some great plans have already been made, and we will continue our collaboration.

Pixformance

Together with the Fitbrand team, I had the pleasure of doing some great work for Pixformance in 2018. We expanded and improved their website, set up many successful campaigns, and took a trip to Pixformance’s headquarters in Berlin. Unfortunately, at the end of 2018, Pixformance decided to discontinue the collaboration. This was frustrating because, together with the Fitbrand team, we had invested a lot of time and energy into Pixformance.

Studio Overmorgen

In 2018, I worked with Jarno to give his website a fresh look and feel. It wasn’t a complete overhaul, but we added small improvements over time. The result is great.

PLTS

With the Fitbrand team, I worked on the new website for PLTS, the Pilates studio of Renee Vervoorn and Guy van der Reijden. For this project, I was responsible for both design and technology.

Rizoem

With the team from Idee-fix, I worked on the new website for Rizoem. I took responsibility for converting the design into code.

Studio Neon

I worked on two projects with the ladies from Studio Neon this year. Together, we created the website for Dokjard and started work on Studio Neon’s website. If all goes well, it will go live in early 2019.

Or-Quest

With the Or-Quest team, I started the complete redesign of their website. Everyone is excited about the designs, and in early 2019, we will continue with the development of these designs.

Callvoip

With the Callvoip team, I worked on their online proposition throughout the year. Together, we launched several mini-websites and started the redesign of their main website at the end of 2018. More about this in 2019.

DataWatt

For DataWatt, I started building a helpdesk system tailored to the company’s needs. The website also received a few updates. The helpdesk system will be delivered in early 2019.

Jet-Stream

With the Jet-Stream team, I am working on an exciting new startup. I can’t share much yet, but it’s going to be an amazing product. My role in the project includes designing the application, front-end coding, and contributing to the user experience.

Side Projects

In 2018, I worked on four side projects. Unfortunately, one project didn’t make it, and the other two didn’t receive enough attention this year.

CollectContent

The platform was supposed to be the place to manage all your content: web, social, and offline. There were enough great ideas, but not enough time. This led Lukas, Jeljer, and me to decide to park this idea for now. Luckily, we still have the photos.

ProposalMate

In 2018, ProposalMate got a face. Thanks to Jeroen, ProposalMate now has a cool logo, which I’m still very happy with. I also launched a temporary website for ProposalMate in 2018, and the reactions were surprisingly positive. Unfortunately, I couldn’t showcase a demo in 2018 due to lack of time and focus.

LeBaby

A foray into the e-commerce world. Together with Danielle, I registered with the Chamber of Commerce to shake up the baby clothing industry. The first stock is in place, product descriptions are written, and the shop’s design is almost finished. We plan to open in the first quarter of 2019.

UI Tower

A relatively new idea that taps into a popular framework. UI Tower will be a collection of commonly used design elements that other designers and developers can use for free or for a fee. All elements are written in the Tailwind framework. More about UI Tower will follow in early 2019.

Writing

In 2018, I started writing blogs on my website. I wrote a total of seven articles. The goal was to write at least 15, but seven is still better than zero! 😉

Here are the articles I wrote:

• 15 tips to make your website faster
• Gutenberg: the biggest change in years for WordPress
• A visit to Pixformance in Berlin
• Sketch alternative for Windows
• Why a slow website is bad for your business
• Web design trends for 2018
• WordPress introduces solution for the new privacy law (AVG/GDPR)

Plans for 2019

In 2019, I hope to be able to exercise more, preferably four to five times a week. I’ll continue with the keto diet and intermittent fasting. Additionally, I want to experiment with a year of no alcohol and plan to consistently wake up at 6 AM.

I also want to delve deeper into minimalism and try to be happier with less.

Of course, we’ll need to figure out a lot for our new home in 2019: kitchen, bathroom, paint, floors, garden, etc. There are many decisions to make and a lot of work to do, but it’s also very exciting.

Business

In 2019, I want to work more structured, with fixed days for regular clients. This will help me have more peace and focus, which will lead to even better business results.

2019 is also the year when I will invest more time and energy into my side projects. On the agenda are the launch of UI Tower, LeBaby, and ProposalMate. Ambitious, but I’m excited! For ProposalMate, I’m looking for a strong developer to help me. Do you know any good Laravel developers? Then send me an email. 😉

Writing

For 2019, I want to continue writing articles, not only in Dutch but also in English. Especially the more technical topics have a wider reach in English. My goal for 2019 is to publish at least 20 articles.

Video

In 2019, I want to do more with video. I notice that I myself use YouTube more and more as an information source. My goal is to publish two video courses on YouTube in 2019.