Hey friends 👋

The end of February finally brought a bit of sunshine here and well ... I didn't realize how much I missed it until it hit my face. The past weeks have been very full on my end: house construction stuff, work, exams and a lot of content creation in between. The big highlight: I published my very first iOS app – Dankbar 🎉
It's a free, offline-first gratitude journal with on-device AI where you own your data (nothing is sent to servers, everything stays on your phone). No subscription, no surprises. If there's ever a paid version, it'll be a buy-once, use-forever Pro upgrade with extras like recaps, advanced reminders and photo entries. If you're curious, you can check it out here:
Website | App Store

🎥 YouTube Video: If Your Goals Feel Heavy, This is Why This one explores the idea of borrowed goals—how we sometimes chase things that aren't truly ours and why that can make even "good" goals feel weirdly heavy.

✍️ Blog Post: The Great Comeback of The Generalist Apart from that, I also published a new blog post on why being a generalist might finally be a viable option again thanks to AI.

Reflections & Insights

Gratitude Changed My Lens in 2025

For a long time, my default mode was full on critical. Not in a mean way—more like a permanently active flaw-detector. People, technology, ideas, offers, plans: I could instantly tell you what's wrong with it. And because I was always chasing "perfect", I ended up frustrated a lot. The so-called small things barely registered because they didn't feel important enough. However, especially in 2025, gratitude slowly rewired that. Not through big revelations, but through repetition.
The more I practiced expressing gratitude—either writing it down or saying it out loud—the more my attention shifted. I started to notice the tiny moments of joy that used to slip right past me: a warm cup of tea, a quiet morning, a good laugh the exact kind of sunlight that makes a normal day feel like a gift.
And here's the part that surprised me: gratitude didn't make life "perfect". It made life feel fuller, because I stopped measuring my days only by what was missing.

My simple routine is almost boring: I have my Dankbar reminder set to 9:30pm, and most nights I'll repeat it in bed with my wife before we turn out the lights. A few lines, a few honest moments. Nothing fancy. But over time, those "small" moments stopped being small. They became the point.

Monthly Favourites

🎶 Song: Weezer – Say It Ain't So
Sometimes some good childhood memories is all you need.

📚 Book: James Islington – The Strength of the Few (Hierarchy #2)
Had the first one in here a couple of months ago, now the second one came out and it's just as good if not even better. If you're into epic fantasy, do me a favor and order this book already.

📽️ Video:  ALL OF NUTRITION SCIENCE in 13 Minutes (No BS)
Honestly didn't expect too much, but this one hit right home with a perfect balance of depth and no BS advice. The title really delivered.

Book Club

Interested in joining our book club?
Then hop into my Discord and check out the #book-club channel.
We're currently reading Why Brains Need Friends by Ben Rein and will have a discussion about it in April!

Monthly Journaling Prompt

What are you grateful for?

Sorry for being so focused on gratitude this month, but I wholeheartedly believe it's a real game-changer. The reason I built Dankbar is to have a reliable journal for myself, to be able to answer this question every single week.
Oh, and don't just think about it, also express and share it with the people you care about!

Thanks for checking in—see you next month!

Best,
Robin