Christian Van Gils

Acknowledging the quiet signs that require external help. He knew he was struggling, but talking about it felt difficult, almost embarrassing. The application provided a different language: the Silent Signal. It wasn't a demand for a therapist; it was a recognition that a chronic pattern (Stress + No Control for ten days) requires visibility. The system spoke for him when his voice felt too...

The three variables that define a day’s success. Success used to be measured by hours worked or tasks completed. Now, he started measuring the inputs that truly mattered: Mood, Energy, and Control. These three small metrics were the vital signs of his professional engine. Tracking them daily wasn't monitoring; it was owning the fuel that ran his career. 💖 A heartbeat thought by Christian van...

Changing the path the moment the warning light flashes. He sat down, intending to dive into a high-pressure project. The 20-second check-in showed his energy was depleted, his mood low. The initial plan was scrapped. Instead of forcing high-output work, he dedicated the first hour to light, restorative tasks. The data allowed him to pivot quickly, not from failure, but from predicted burnout....

Intervening when the rhythm is about to break. He saw the Erratic Pulse score rise, a volatile swing between extreme happiness and sudden exhaustion. It wasn't yet a crisis, but it was a warning of instability. The data provided the one thing prevention requires: time. He didn't wait for the flatline; he changed the rhythm today, protecting his health by acting on the forecast. Monitor your...

The thirty seconds that protect the twenty-four hours. He was already late for the meeting, adrenaline pulsing, temptation strong to skip the check-in. It's just twenty seconds, the voice argued. But he knew those twenty seconds were the only non-negotiable discipline he had all day, the fence protecting his private wellbeing from the public demands. He opened the app, registered the true Mood...

Creating a consistent measurement in a sea of change. His workload, his location, and his team were constantly changing. Everything was in flux. But at the same time every day, he logged his three metrics. This simple ritual created an Anchor Point—a single, consistent moment of self-assessment amidst professional turbulence. It wasn't the data that mattered most; it was the habit of stopping...

Taking stock of the emotional resources you have left. She used the check-in as a daily inventory. How much Energy was left in the tank? How much Control did she lose yesterday? She wasn't logging a diary of events, but a precise inventory of her resources. This simple accounting allowed her to budget her mental power for the rest of the day, ensuring she didn't recklessly spend tomorrow's...

The choice to act before the noise starts. He had seen a week of slowly dropping Energy levels. No one else noticed. No manager called, no colleague commented. The signal was entirely his own. That evening, he cancelled an unnecessary social commitment and went to bed early. The check-in hadn't forced a drastic change, but it enabled a Silent Intervention—a small, private course correction that...

Claiming the data that defines your future health. He used to view health checks as something HR did to him. Now, his daily check-in was data he created for himself. This sense of ownership was a powerful shift. The PulseBoard wasn't monitoring his compliance; it was helping him own the most critical dataset of his life, the predictive map of his own wellbeing. Don't forget to follow through on...

The transformation of a prompt into a necessity. In the first week, the app notification felt like a chore. By the third week, the absence of the check-in felt wrong. The simple act of logging Mood, Energy, and Control had transformed from an external prompt into an internal necessity. The habit loop was closed: the awareness itself became the reward. So my question for you: "What is your...

So first real workday this week in the new year. Remember my heartbeats! Preparing for the storm signaled by yesterday’s metrics. He checked his previous day's metrics: low Energy and high Stressed mood. Today, he consciously scheduled an easy win and blocked his lunch hour. The check-in was less about documenting the past and more about forecasting the day's potential risks. He treated the...

The simplification of complex exhaustion. Exhaustion used to be a complicated, multi-faceted complaint. Now, it boiled down to three simple, measurable questions: What is my Mood? What is my Energy? Do I have Control? These three variables cut through the narrative noise, simplifying overwhelming complexity into actionable inputs he could respond to immediately. 💖 A heartbeat thought by...

This morning, I woke up to a world that had turned completely white. There is something about that first look out the window, the silence of the snow, the crispness of the air, that makes me smile instantly. My day started with an undeniable "good mood" before I even had my first cup of coffee. It got me thinking: What are the invisible forces that determine how we perform? After 35 years in...

Stopping the withdrawal when the balance runs low. He used to treat his energy as infinite. Now, he checked the level and saw it as a bank balance. Seeing the meter drop to 40% in the afternoon was the equivalent of an overdraft warning. He immediately stopped the high-demand tasks, canceling a meeting to prevent the balance from hitting zero. The check-in wasn't just monitoring; it was...

I’ve been watching the discussions here over the holidays, and it’s inspiring to see so much passion. But it also got me thinking. After 35 years in the entrepreneurial world, I’ve realised that my biggest mistakes didn't happen because I wasn't working hard enough—they happened because I was running on an empty battery. As founders, we are obsessed with "optimisation." We optimize our code,...

Hello everyone, I'm Christian van Gils, Co-founder of PulseBoard. For my entire career, I've been a dedicated entrepreneur. I successfully built and ran a media agency for 12.5 years, followed by a software company that I recently and successfully exited after 22 years. Now, I'm redirecting all of that experience, knowledge, and entrepreneurial drive toward a single mission: making 2026 a...

Our Reasoning (Why this matters to us): My team and I have been building well-being systems for months, and our biggest realization is that the industry is still fighting the wrong battle. Most tools are great at tracking absenteeism (sick leave), but they completely miss Presenteeism—the invisible stress and low productivity that precedes the actual 'crash.' We believe this is the biggest...

Hey Product Hunt community! I'm Christian van Gils, and I'm the maker behind PulseBoard, a tool focused on preventing long-term sick leave by solving the 'Presenteeism' problem. My team and I have spent the last months tackling the single biggest barrier in this space: TRUST. We are launching on Wednesday 18-12-2025, and I am here now to answer any questions you have today, Sunday, about our...