Bear Academy

People want to be productive, and productivity is not only a common goal for professionals, but also a goal for almost everyone. I think I'm productive, but recently, I just found a tip that can fundamentally improve my productivity to a brand new level. What's that? Let's talk about this! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

There are a few things creative people need to do every day, actually, some things need to do for the whole life as a designer, programmer, writer, or any kind of creative people. I've joined an online session with legendary designer, Brian Collins, and he listed 3 things that every creative person needs to improve during his/her career. Can't wait to share with you! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

Productive remote meetings, everyone wants them, but it's not easy to be productive during all meetings, especially for remote workers. We need to know not all the meetings are the same, and we should divide them into different types, and cope with different strategies. Here's a tip that I'm using for keeping productive and good well-being when taking many meetings every work week. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

I guess most of you guys already watched the Netflix show: Squid Game? As a product and UX designer, I found a few design principles in Squid Game. Sounds interested? Let's jump into the game and review them! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

Work could mean different thing for us. What does work mean to you? Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

A big tip that helps my well-being during lockdown is disconnecting. To be specific, disconnect from my devices while eat and sleep. Let's talk about the first one. Eating and scrolling was my default - I always need to find something to do. Checking social media, posting photos on social, watching videos, or listening to podcasts...so many things to do while eating! I noticed how my mobile shaped my behavior and thinking and decided to fight back. I've tried mindfulness eating, and it changed the way I used to eat. Eating becomes a way of recharging myself, both on body and soul. As there are three times per day to recharge, the benefits are continuous. It's easy - just eat when you are eating. Look at your food, smell them, taste them and eat them. Just connect to them, rather than connect to your device, news, or emails. Try it today, it's only 20-30 minutes. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

Recently I ran a team session with 30+ designers in my team, and got some great tips and suggestions on coping with lockdown. Let's see how those top professionals cope with lockdown! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

New Zealand is currently in a level 4 lockdown, and many people from other places are experiencing the same challenge. In this podcast, I'm going to share a few wellbeing tips that I used and worked for me on coping with lockdown, hope they will helpful for you as well. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

I consider producing content as a serious thing. Since this year, I've decided to make 2 videos per week. That was my goal, and it still is. But in last two months, I stopped doing it. Why? In this podcast, I'm going to share why and how I stopped making content on my channel in last 2 months, and use the time to write a book. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

It's not easy to give a speech in front of 100 people as an introvert, with your second language. I'm happy that I did it, but even happier about the things I've learned. In this podcast, I'm sharing a few things I've learned from 4 public speeches I did recently: Sincere beats seriousity. Don't start from scratch. Reflection as a habit. Preparation is gold, and practice is diamond. Team work makes dream work. Enjoy the progress. *** Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. *** You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

How many books you can read in a month? If can read 1 book per week, you can read 4 books in a month. I got 10 books done in April, with a full-time job, a four-year-old to take care of, a YouTube channel, and a podcast to take care of. How did I do it? Check this podcast for details! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

As a UX designer at Vodafone, things at work are challenging, complex, and exciting. My habit is to review things I learned at work regularly, and as I worked at Vodafone New Zealand for a couple of months already, here are a few things I learned at work. Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

One of the common questions from a self-taught designer is: what If I’m not good enough to learn design? What if I’m not good enough to become a designer? What if it was a wrong choice? I know it as I've been there, and it's totally ok. In this video, I'll share a few tips that helped me went through it, and finally became a confident designer. Hope these tips can help you as well! Bear Who? Hello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours. You can find me here: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo Newsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup Blog: https://blog.beartalking.com/ Podcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking Twitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig Weibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig Website: https://beartalking.com

You borrowed a book from library or from your friend. When reading it, you found it was so good that you want to take notes. But how to take notes from borrowed books? You can't write or doodle on the book, it's not yours. Here's an easy, flexible and productive way to take notes from a book you borrowed, without damaging the book for sure!\r\n\n\n\r\n\n\nBear Who?\r\n\n\nHello, I'm Bear, a UX/UI designer who lives and works in Auckland. I make podcasts and YouTube videos about design, productivity, and tech between my work and family hours.\n\nYou can find me here:\r\n\nYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BearTalkVideo\r\n\nNewsletter: https://email.beartalking.com/signup\r\n\nBlog: https://blog.beartalking.com/\r\n\nPodcast: https://voice.beartalking.com/\r\n\nInstagram: https://instagram.com/beartalking\r\n\nTwitter: https://twitter.com/bearbig\r\n\nWeibo: https://www.weibo.com/bearbig\r\n\nWebsite: https://beartalking.com\r\n

In the book Mindset, Dr. Carol Dweck shows the importance of a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. Why is a growth mindset essential for UX designers? As a UX designer, you should be bold enough to admit things you don't know and believe you can find the proper solution for the problem you are working at. In another way, the UX discovery stage for designers is a trial-and-fail process, which requires a growth mindset so you can reflect on what you've learned and adapted it to your design.\r\n

Be a closer, or be a loser? In my opinion, always closing the thing you plan to do, even in the way you are not satisfied or proud. If you are not a closer, you are a loser. That's why I recorded this video in my car on a rainy evening.\r\n

Philip Mills, the founder of Les Mills International, recommended me on my LinkedIn Profile. It was such an honor to have a recommendation from one of the top leaders in the global fitness industry. How did I get it? Check the video for details!\r\n

E-Myth is an excellent book about business, especially for helping small businesses grow without them burned out. \r\n\n\nI like the book's structure by telling a story about Sarah, a small pie Store owner struggling to survive on her own business. She worked 12 hours per day. She gets used to working as a technician rather than an entrepreneur. The author met Sarah as a mentor to help her to think about things from a different perspective and improve the shop business step by step. This is a great way to share some theories with the audience by telling a great story. Show characters struggle, and what are the specific actions that they can do? How they cope with the problems. Finally, what was the result?\r\n\n\nAlso, the whole book is about building a system without involving personality, which means that even people change, your business won't be impacted. \r\n\n\nAnd another part of the book, which I found quite helpful, is an example of how two or three co-founders can run a business by defining each role and its responsibility for the business. It could be just the founders initially, but later, if they have better candidates, they don't have to spend all the time doing the technician work. They can hire someone who can do the job. And document all the steps with precise measurements so that anyone can pick them up. \r\n

Why do we need a UX portfolio? And how to prepare the portfolio that can get you hired? In this video, I'll share a few tips about portfolios for UX designers and product designers, so that you could know how to start to build your own portfolio to help you get the design job you want.\r\n

A few years ago, when I move to New Zealand from China, as a designer without local experience, references, and didn't even speak the language properly, I had a big question: how can I start? I think it's not only my question but probably the key question for all the people who would like to work somewhere else from his/her home country: yeah, how can I start? Because I've been experienced this struggle, I was impressed when I learned Michel Ferreira's story. Started from Brazil, Michel extended his design career to an international level: he previously worked in the US, then worked at Shopify in Canada and Booking.com in the Netherlands, and currently in Sydney as a Design Manager at Atlassian. Wow! How did he start? With curiosity in my mind, I invited Michel for this podcast interview and the result? Boom! I got this mind-blowing conversation. Let's jump into it! By the way, if you curious about the title - what about his four other hidden roles? Stay to the last, and you'll get it then :) Shownote Visual shownote About the guest Michel Ferreira is a Brazilian designer living in Sydney, Australia where he works full-time as a Design Manager at Atlassian, building the future of world-class Enterprise products like Jira. Previously worked at Shopify in Canada and Booking.com in the Netherlands. Michel is also the host of LatinXs Who Design podcast. As a writer and public speaker, Michel has delivered numerous presentations to audiences around the world to introduce new design ideas and examine best practices in A/B testing. He's also written articles for Net Magazine and company blogs such as: Would you like fries with that? For Booking.com and 11 Lessons from the NBA Bubble for your newly remote team for Atlassian. Michel Ferreira's podcast https://anchor.fm/latinxswhodesign Special Guest: Michel Ferreira.