Professor Uniform

PJ Uniform Sdn Bhd carries the trade name of “Professor” was established in 1982 with its first outlet located in SS2 Petaling Jaya. Presently with 15 Professor Outlets and still growing, it offers the most comprehensive range of school and extra...

[professoruniforms]

Sneak Preview of School Holiday Promotion!

Once again, it’s that time of the year: School Holiday! I can’t help but feel like excitements are in the air! But let’s leave that to another post, today we’ll look at the sneak preview for our School Holiday Promotion!

We have some new goodies on sale! Starting with this portable AND foldable barbecue grill at a 50% discount! Perfect for that little getaway trip!

If that trip leads into the wild, it probably helps to bring along a rugged flashlight, and leave all the GPS works to your smartphone. Enter this rechargeable flashlight from CREE! Again on sale for only half its usual price, this green-camouflaged flashlight will blend right in! Just be sure to not lose sight of it. That’d be the irony.

Speaking of sight, this cone sure catches some. If you ever need to pull your car over at the highway, or to warn people of impeding hazards in the woods, this emergency cone could save you in a bind. On top of that, it is extremely compact and wouldn’t take up much room at all!

There you have it! The promotion starts on the 1st of December, 2015 and ends on the 31st of January, 2016. The full list will be out tomorrow, so be sure to check back! If you like our posts, subscribe to our newsletters!

Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Prepare For Exams With These 5 Tips

Ladies and gentlemen, our newsletter is back! Seeing the SPM 2015 is looming on the horizon, some study tips are in order! But wait, the exam is less than a week away, surely this is too late to try anything new? Well this guy below disagrees.

*image credits to pinterest.com

The author has compiled some last-minute, nick-of-time tips to even the odds! Well, okay, so they’re not really “last-minute“ per se, but following these tips will ensure we bring our best game to the exam. Let’s have a look:

1) Sleep well Yes, call it what you want; old-school, classic, I-already-know-it, but it can’t be stressed enough: missing even an hour of sleep slows down our reaction speed, plus our memory retention suffers. What does this translate to exam? Well, those 60 MCQs that we used to finish under 50 minutes can now take 80 minutes; those equations we memorized before? Well we can’t seemed to remember it as well now. The worst part of sleep deprivation is we won’t even feel like we underperformed when we actually did. So, get at least 9 hours of sleep; if you haven’t already, start it now! These tips to improve our sleep quality might be helpful, too.

*image credits to alquranclasses.com

2) Stay hydrated Staying hydrated is especially important now with the haze affecting everyone around. If you haven’t already, invest in a face mask of N95 grade or better. Don’t just use the normal face mask because it doesn’t filter out all the finer airborne particles. Make sure you bring extra water with you during exam time, and stay indoor as much as possible. If all tests are over for the day, go straight home! If you feel your throats are getting sore right now, try these home remedies. You do not want to fall sick this close to the exam.

3) Study in chunks Most of us have probably heard of the optimal sleep cycle in the duration of 90 minutes that was coined the Circadian Rhythm; what some of us may not know is that scientists have found we also have an optimal attention period of 90 minutes during the day, and this was incorporated along with Circadian Rhythm into the new term: the Ultradian Rhythm. What this means for study is that: you should prepare your environment and schedule to study in chunks or blocks of 90 minutes straight without interruption, then give yourself a rest-period of 20~30 minutes before continuing with study. Stretch yourself in the mean time, as even light exercise will improve blood flow to your brain and helps you think clearer, not to mention releasing hormones that helps with relieving stress, something all students facing an important exam will have ample of.

*image credits to lifehack.org

4) Do mock exams Lots of them. One of the best and most effective ways for the author to deal with exams has been to conduct mock exams that are as similar to the real thing as possible. This doesn’t just mean the questions asked, but also the timing of the exam and the environment of the exam centre. If the first exam of the day start early at around 8am, and you expect heavy traffic to reach the exam site so you need to wake up on 6am, schedule a day before the actual exam and do a mock test, where you wake up on 6am, eat and prepare yourself, and starts the test on 8am. If there’s another exam in the evening starting at 3pm, use the time in between to estimate what you will do during the real test, where to spend the time, how much time to spend on studying that next test, what to eat in between the time so you won’t get hungry but also not too full so as to avoid it affecting the test, so on and so forth. And of course, start the next mock test at 3pm. This allows us to envision possible issues that may pop up (sleepy during the 3pm test means you probably need to take a nap during the gap), and get used to the whole process so we won’t be as nervous during the real exam.

5) Start with the easy answers I’m sure most people do this, but from time to time I still heard news of students unable to answer all questions on time due to mismanagement of time. Starting with the easy answers will give you a boost of confidence right at the start of the test. Besides, filling up all the easy answers plus a few tough ones will probably lands you a higher score than solving all the tough ones but only managing some of the easy ones. Yes, score is not everything, but knowing the answers yet getting a lower score due to blank sheets is going to leave you with a crushing feeling, crushing regret. Leave no regrets.

*image credits to medexec.org

In the end, the most important thing we carry away from our school life may not be the scores at all. It could be the long-lasting friendship, the social skills, the connection, etc. But if there’s nothing else that you took with you, take this: the skills to learn. Give a man a fish, he’ll be full for a day; teach him to fish, and he won’t starve for the rest of his life. 

I wish you all the best of luck. Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Sneak Preview of OMG! Promotion!

In line with our bi-monthly promotion, we will be having the OMG! Promotion for the month of October and November! Here’s a sneak preview on the items on promo:

First of all, the parrot-shaped wine opener is back by popular demand! Grab this for just RM8.50 and impress your friends at the parties!

The usual selection of camping tools such as this compact survival knife are back as well.

And~ we are having promotion on all of these sleek umbrellas!

The full list of items on promotion will be posted on our social media sites tomorrow, so stay tuned! Also, subscribe to our newsletters to stay up to date on our ongoing promotions, exciting adventures, study tips, and life hacks!

[professoruniforms]

Once Upon A Time In India, Part 7

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the last post in the series of “Once Upon A Time In India”. Last week we have seen June’s sketch-walking in India, now we shift the focus onto the most sacred of rivers in India: The Ganga River!

The reverence for cow in Hinduism is well-known worldwide, so it only seems fitting to have a cow along this sacred river; and my goodness, what a handsome cow! Pure black throughout the body and with shiny skin. Needless to say, this cow must be held in high regard by the people around.

The Ganga River, also known as the Ganges, is the longest river in India. Its source begins on the western Himalaya, flowing through both India and Bangladesh over a distance of 2,525 kilometers before pouring into the Bay of Bengal. Here’s one view of the city of Varanasi located on the banks of the Ganga River in the state of Uttar Pradesh, about 320 kilometers south-east of Lucknow, the state’s capital.

Varanasi is of particular religious importance to the Indians, if only for the belief that Buddha founded Buddhism in this area around the year of 528 BCE. It is also one of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, serving as the cultural centre of religion and education throughout the Middle Ages, and even experienced a cultural revival under the rule of the Muslim Mughal emperor Akbar when he built large temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu.

Varanasi is also the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism. In fact, Hindus believe dying in the city would lead to salvation, making the city a major pilgrimage site. With pilgrims and tourists, comes business. Many local residents rely on the Ganga River for their daily needs, and those needs include not just water supply to wash their clothes and have a bath, but also income in the form of selling flower petals for religious offerings...

...jugs to hold the sacred water...

...and souvenirs for tourists. In addition to the daily goods, of course.

Currently, the Ganga is the lifeline to about 400 millions of Indians, providing water for nearly 40 percent of India’s population according to this document. Unfortunately, modern India is too much of a burden for the Ganga. Untreated sewage, industrial waste, and pesticides made the Ganga one of the most polluted river in the world. On top of that, the brutal heat waves that has been plaguing India for the past few years are shrinking the river at an alarming rate.

The current Prime Minister for India, Narendra Modi, has bold plan to clean up the Ganga, which is notoriously difficult to pull off. Previous efforts for the last three decades have been met with failure, with corruption, lack of support from religious groups, lack of expertise, and poor environmental planning cited as the reasons. Will the Ganga ever be clean again? Only time will tell. For the moment, regardless of its cleanliness, the Ganga remains the holiest of rivers in the hearts of many Indians.

With this post, the series comes to an end. If we get our hands on more exciting adventures, you can read all about it here. In fact, if YOU have adventures to tell, let us know! We might just publish them here. As always, if you like our posts, subscribe to our free newsletters! Also, don’t forget our Merdeka Promotion is in its last week, so if you find anything you like, grab it now!

Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Once Upon A Time In India, Part 6

Welcome to the penultimate post in our “Once Upon A Time In India” series. After looking at the historical sites in India for two consecutive weeks, we return our focus to the streets, with a twist!

It seems the author forgot to mention this, but June went to India along with a group of artists for photo-shooting and sketch-walking. As such, for every day during the journey June has to face a challenging question: should she bring out the heavyweight camera so as not to miss out on that fleeting, beautiful moment? Or should she bring a lightweight camera so she can bring along her sketch tools as well?

Well, she never did came up with a definite answer for that. Luckily, her artist friends are there to help capture the moments while she was busy sketching away. That is what we are going to look at today. June and the group went sketchwalk at various places, ranging from inside a palace...

...at the sideways of the streets...

...or in the middle of a park.

Naturally, the kids around are gonna get curious about about what she’s doing. They gathered around June, observed how she sketch, and even took photos of her sketches to try and imitate them back home!

Her friend was just at the right place and at the right time to capture this moment. Beautiful smiles from these kids, perfect with the great caption on the purple shirt: “Some people look for a beautiful place, others make a place beautiful." Folks, these kids might just be our future artists!

Here’s some of the sights June saw while she went sketchwalking. The shade on this old building combines with the wooden grain on the door creates such a contrast that imparts a fairy-tale like ambience to this photo.

This life-like statue depicts an Indian woman playing a musical instrument. The shades and contrast makes this statue looks very much three-dimensional, even on a photo. I wonder how the music would have sounded if the model of this statue from all those years back actually did play it out loud. I bet it would be dreamy.

Of course, let’s not forget the people living here in India. Look at this photo of a father and a daughter. You can tell he loves her very much. Was he teaching his daughter how to ride the bicycle? Nah, her leg would have been too short for this bicycle. Although, it is possible he wants her to get a feel of how riding a bicycle would feel like. We may never know, but therein lies the charm of photography: to etch this moment in frame, so that we may revisit it time and again, pondering and admiring a time gone by.

With that, this post comes to an end. Next week will be the last post in this series, and the author intend to visit the most sacred of rivers in India: The Ganga River! If you like our posts, subscribe to our free newsletters and do check out our ongoing promo. Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Once Upon A Time In India, Part 5

After seeing some of the World Heritage Sites in the state of Madhya Pradesh, we move on to Jaipur. Jaipur is located in the state of Rajasthan, and it has its own share of historical sites. Today we’ll look at some of the palaces in Jaipur!

The photo above is taken with the palace guards, and they are wearing uniform colloquially known as Jama costumes in honour of the traditional attire of their former kings. The Jama costumes are an age-old traditional attire that became popular during the Mughal period (from year 1526 till 1857).

The photo above depicts Maharajah Bhau Singh wearing one such Jama costume. There are different styles of Jama, some are tight around the torso but flared out like skirt till below knees or ankle, while some other ended around the knees.

Here we have a few photos from the Amber Palace, otherwise known as Amber Fort. Amber Palace is located a mere 11km away from Jaipur in — what a surprise — the town of Amber! (Also pronounced as Amer) Having been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in year 2013, Amber Palace remains the main tourist attraction in and around Jaipur.

The palace is famous for its distinctive Hindu elements, with large ramparts and gates populating the site. An interesting note: the palace and the Jaigarh Fort are located on the same range of hills overlooking the Maota Lake, and are considered as a single complex, as they are connected by a subterranean passage meant to be used as an escape route for the royal family members in times of war.

The palace itself is laid out upon four different levels, each with its distinct courtyard. The four levels consists of the hall of public audience, the hall of private audience, the Jai Mandir (a.k.a. the Sheesh Mahal, literally “the Mirror Palace”, not to be confused with other palaces bearing the same name), and the Sukh Niwas Mahal. The Sukh Niwas palace overlooks a water cascade, and its surrounding is artificially kept cool by the wind blowing over the cascade.

Here’s another angle of the courtyard sitting right next to the Jai Mandir.

The Mirror Palace earned its nickname due to a variety of glass inlaid panels, mirror mosaics, and mutil-mirrored ceilings. When candlelights are lit, the place has been described as looking like a “glittering jewel box“! Unfortunately, most of these pieces of art has been allowed to deteriorate during the 70s to 80s; but luckily, an ongoing effort is made to restore and renovate the site.

Alas, that’s all for this week. If you like our posts, subscribe to our free newsletters! In the mean time, do check out our ongoing promo. Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Once Upon A Time In India, Part 4

Having seen the daily lives in India for the past two weeks, we now switch the focus back to the historical sites in India!

First off, let us take a look at one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Khajuraho Group of Monuments! The above photo was taken at this side, with June posting with two lovely ladies.

The Khajuraho Group of Monuments is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh, about 175km southeast of Jhansi. Built during the Chandella dynasty between year 950 and 1050, the temples are known for their Nagara architecture and vivid sculptures.

Here is an example of the unique blend of architecture and sculptures on the Kandariya Shree Mahadeva temple, widely believed to be among the greatest masterpieces of Indian Art. The author is amazed by the sheer amount of detail put onto each and every pillars and walls!

Here’s a close up on one portion of the sculptures. Based on historical records, there were a total of 85 temples built across an area of 20 square kilometers. Unfortunately, of the original temples, only 22 remain till this day, disseminated within an area of about 6 square kilometers.

Of these, the Kandariya Shree Mahadeva temple is arguably the most famous, with its sculptures depicting various mythological scenes of amusements, many of which are erotic in nature. The photo above shows said temple from another view angle.

An interesting fact is that while the group of temples were built together, they were dedicated to two different religions, specifically Hinduism and Jainism, suggesting a tradition of acceptance and respect among the Hindus and Jains for diverse religious views.

Next, we move on to the old city of Orchha. Orchha is also located in the state of Madhya Pradesh, on the bank of Betwa river and about 15 kilometers northwest of Jhansi. It is currently a small town, with a population of only around 8500 people, but has much of the old buildings intact and carries the legacy of the Bundela dynasty with it!

Orchha was founded in year 1501 by Rudra Pratap Singh, a Bundela Rajput chief who later became the first King of Orchha. Unfortunately, the foundation coincides with the rise of the Mughal empire, and Orchha eventually became a tributary state during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar, also known as Akbar the Great (the word Akbar literally means “great”; he also tripled the wealth and size of the Mughal empire during his reign, so it’s a fitting title). 

However, the legacy did not end there. Orchha would prosper over the years and became the capital of an eponymous princely state during the British Raj era, with the ruler elevated to the title of Maharaja. The state of Orchha became the oldest and highest in rank of Bundela states, with its Maharaja bearing the hereditary title of First of the Prince of Bundelkhand.

That’s all for this week folks! As always, if you like our posts, you can subscribe to our free newsletters. In the mean time, do check out our ongoing promo! Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Once Upon A Time In India, Part 3

Last week we went to the streets and looked at the daily lives in India. But hey, one post is hardly sufficient to cover it all, which leads us to part 3! I mentioned the post will get doubled in length if we crammed everything into last week’s post, but I was wrong: It would more than likely tripled!

So we’ve always heard how our perception toward a person changes vastly according to whether we judge them based on their individual characteristics (in other words, we know them in person), or based on generalisation; But, you might be surprised at just how different it could be. This lady, for example, asked for June’s hand while they were talking, puts a bracelet on her hand, and didn’t asks for anything in return. A gentleman selling snacks, pictured below, kept insisting on giving June food for free!

Now, I must say I got startled when I looked at said gentleman’s face, but this is a perfect example of why we shouldn’t judge a person based on their looks. As demonstrated many times in the brilliant works of Brandon Stanton, generalisation rarely, if ever, holds true when we get to know a person. If only we get them to open up, we’ll know no one’s really ordinary, and everyone has a story.

Living in India wasn’t without its share of difficulties, however. For example, water supply and its sanitation continue to be inadequate, with many areas lacking continuous water supply. Those living in these areas relied on hand pumps, water trucks, and wells to provide water for their daily lives.

As can be seen from the photos on top and below, hand pumps are utilised regularly by the locals, ranging from drinking straight from the pump, washing clothes, to storing the water in container to bring it back home.

One thing you can say about India is that it is colourful. A wide range of dyes commonly permeates their daily lives. The photo below depicts solvent dyes of varying colours, used expansively in various areas such as fabrics, plastics, and even used to colour hydrocarbon fuels. Such wide array of usage ensures the dyes will always have demand in the domestic markets. 

For example, the dyes are turned into solution before being used to colour the fabrics that will form the core of this exquisite umbrella.

Another example would be these Indian puppets, used in string puppet theaters that are known locally as Kathputli, which basically means wooden puppet (Kath = wood, Putli = doll). Kathputli is a folk art of India, with some believe the tradition being over a millennia old, and is the most popular form of Indian puppetry.

Phew, see what I meant with lengthy post? Well, that’s all for this week. Next week we will return the focus to some of the historical sites in India, so stay tuned!

As always, if you like our posts, you can subscribe to our free newsletters. In the mean time, do check out our ongoing promo! Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Once Upon A Time In India, Part 2

Last week we focused on two of the World Heritage Sites in India, specifically Taj Mahal and Agra fort. This week, we shift our focus to the streets and look at the daily lives in India!

Transportation plays an important part in any society, so it’s not surprising that we can learn a lot about a country by looking at its public transportation alone. In India, taxies are prominent in the daily lives of the local residents. There are two types of taxies here, those with four wheels, and the cheaper counterparts with three wheels, which are very much alike the tuk-tuks in Thailand.

As one might have guessed, the four-wheelers are much pricier than the three-wheeler taxies, so the locals prefer the later, oftentimes squeezing in as much as 15 passengers in a single vehicle! They have been very friendly, smiling and waving their hands about in that tiny vehicle when our founder June took the photos.

Speaking of friendliness, the author has fond memories of Indian barbers. The aroma of the shop, the soothing sound of the fan, the warm touch of the barber, it all coalesce to create a relaxing experience every time I step into an Indian barber shop. So, it came as a shock for me that many barbers in India do not operate in a shop at all!

It’s tough to earn a living under the deteriorating economy, and not many people can afford to own a shop in India. With mouths waiting to be fed, many barbers took to the streets — of the peaceful kind. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Armed with just their tools, a mirror, and two stools, they have all they need to start a business, and many customers are glad to pay them a visit.

There are more captivating moments from the locals’ daily lives the author wanted to share, but alas, the post is going to reach double of its current size, so we shall leave it for next week.

As always, if you like our posts, you can subscribe to our free newsletters. In the mean time, do check out our ongoing promo! Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Once Upon A Time In India, Part 1

We are a strong promoter of outdoor adventures and backpacking trips. Yet we have yet to publish anything related in our newsletter. It’s high time we change that!

Let’s start with the recent trip our founder made to India!

India, home to one of the oldest civilisation in the world, is currently the second most populous country in the world (right behind China) with a total population exceeding 1.2 billion people, and houses a total of 32 world heritage sites! Of them, Taj Mahal is arguably the most widely known, regarded by many as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and the finest example of Mughal architecture.

Located on the southern bank of Yamuna River near the city of Agra, Taj Mahal was believed to be constructed over a period of two decades during the 17th century, under the rule of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The story goes that the emperor was grief-stricken when Mumtaz Mahal, a princess from Persia and the most beloved of his three wives, passed away after giving birth. Taj Mahal was built in memory of Mumtaz Mahal, and to house hers and eventually Shah Jahan’s tombs.

Taj Mahal is widely known for its perfect symmetry (aside from the tombs, that is). It was achieved by stacking pishtaq, or vaulted archway with two similarly shaped arched balconies on its two sides, throughout the corners, making the building symmetrical from all sides! In fact, its symmetry is the source of many myths and wild theories surrounding the emperor’s supposed plan to build another similar mausoleum in black marble across the Yamuna River!

When it comes to Agra, another World Heritage Site spring to mind: The Agra Fort! Located a mere 2.5km away from Taj Mahal along the Yamuna River, the location of the fort has been historically a strategic position since at least the 11th century, and has seen a number of wars and changed hand throughout the centuries. Present day Agra Fort owe its current state mostly to emperor Shah Jahan, whom destroyed some of the earlier buildings within the fort to obtain enough white marbles for the construction of Taj Mahal.

The strategic location of the fort also means a number of buildings were built by the different forces occupying the fort throughout the centuries, displaying a fusion of Indian, Persian, and European architecture, and made Agra Fort one of the most important heritage in India in terms of its architectural history.

We will be posting captivating moments from the trip to India in the coming weeks, ranging from the beautiful architectures to the daily lives of the local residents, so stay tuned!

As always, if you like our posts, you can subscribe to our free newsletters. In the mean time, do check out our ongoing promo! Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Merdeka Promotion Is Live!

As we enter the month of August, we brings to you another bi-monthly promotion in the form of the Merdeka Promotion!

We have a new range of items on discount, going for as low as 88% off the original price on selected items!

The Malaysian flag would make an entry on our promotion list. It IS the Merdeka Promotion, after all, and in celebration of independence we are selling the flag for as low as RM2.15!

In addition, the 5% discount on all Victorinox knives are here to stay.

If you see anything you like, step into one of our stores and check them out! You can find the locations of our stores via the link here. Also check out our ongoing promotions here!

If you prefer to buy online, just visit our website and shop right there! We also provide *free shipping for orders above RM200!

As always, if you like our posts, you can subscribe to our newsletters. Until next time.

*Terms and conditions apply.

[professoruniforms]

5 Tips To Improve Our Listening Skills

Time flies, and we are almost through the first month in the second half of year 2015. For those of you living in Malaysia and attending the third year in secondary school, the PT3 oral exams are just around the corner. We feel listening skills are just as, if not more important, than public speaking skills (of which we came up with these tips a few weeks ago). In light of this, we have come up with these tips to help improve our listening skills in everyday situation.

*image credits to scottthorp.wordpress.com

1) Prepare to listen actively It is not uncommon that we’re in the middle of something when someone approaches to start a conversation. Maybe we were losing ourselves in a book or expecting a call. In these cases, it would be best to ask them to wait and remove any foreseeable distractions before starting the conversation. Turn to face the speaker, have eye contact from time to time, and show through our body language such as nodding when in agreement that we are paying attention. The speaker will feel welcomed and engage in deeper conversation with us.

2) Relax & put both parties at ease For some people, having a deep conversation with a total stranger may come as easily as breathing; this doesn’t apply to everyone though. So relax and, if possible, find a nice place free of distractions to start conversations. If we as listener are nervous, it would affect the speaker, too, and vice versa. Think of the conversations we had with BFFs. Sure we may not share the same intimacy with just anybody, but we can have a serious conversation, throwing insults left and right even, without getting tense. If we put the speaker at ease, they will be willing to diverge more.

3) Wait for pauses before speaking It seems in our desire to be heard and understood, more and more people are condoning what now seems to be the norm of interrupting people in mid-sentence. Some people may find that okay, but for others, it is a highly rude and disrespectful behaviour. To avoid it, simply stop talking. Any thoughts you have, you can wait until the speaker has finished speaking. Usually a one to two second pause would suffice, unless their body language says otherwise. If you really find it hard to finish listening or has a tendency to finish others’ words, you could let them know before hand. Like: “I’m all ears. But just to let you know, I’ve a habit of cutting people off mid-sentence. If you find that uncomfortable, do let me know.” It may be awkward to start a conversation with that line, but it’s better to be awkward yet staying on the same page, rather than having misunderstandings after a conversation.

*image credits to skillsyouneed.com **Based on the research of Adler, R., Rosenfeld, L., and Proctor, R. (2001)

4) Understanding comes before judging Judging come naturally to us. It is tied to our survival instinct, as being able to quickly judge what are dangerous to us and what aren’t is a key to survival. It is by constantly judging that we are able to come up with split second decisions when the need arise; however, judging people without putting ourselves in their shoes often led to misunderstanding, prejudice, and discrimination. It is therefore crucial to have an open mind and seek clarification even if we’re sure we understood what was being said. Summarise the points and repeat it in your own words so as to make sure both parties are on the same page. After all, one can argue that we can never truly walk the exact same path as any other human beings, so we may as well err on the side of caution, lest there be misunderstandings.

5) Practice! It may come as a surprise, but tactfulness, a key ingredient in initiating engaging conversations, can be practiced and improved upon! By meeting up with people of different backgrounds and actively listening to their viewpoints, we could enhance our own viewpoint, and in return increase our open-mindedness. Some of us were poor at reading non-verbal communication and / or tones, so it may help to grab some of our friends and practice with them. You may think these poor friends of ours don’t deserve such a treatment, but hey, they’re our friends. Once a confidante, always a confidante. They’re in it for life. Too bad.

*image credits to marinapearson.com

That’s it for this week. For Malaysian Form 3 students, we wish you the best of luck in PT3 Oral exams. For the rest of you, we hope this week’s tips have been useful. As always, if you like our posts, subscribe to our newsletters!

If you haven’t already, check out our Jumbo June & July Promotion before it ends! We have also released a sneak peek into our Merdeka Promotion.

Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Sneak Preview of Merdeka Promotion!

Once again we’re nearing the end of the month, and the end of the Jumbo June & July Promotion. But fear not! We will be having the Merdeka Promotion starting from the 1st of August till the end of September, 2015! Here’s a sneak peek into some of the items on promotion:

Multitools and utensils for only RM22.20, perfect for backpacking trips! Comes with a pouch, too!

An essential tool for any party, this wine opener is shaped like a parrot! For just RM8.50, you can add this elegant wine opener to your collection and impress your friends at the parties!

Let’s not forget about the Malaysian flag. It IS the Merdeka Promotion, after all, and in celebration of independence we are selling the flag for a mere RM2.15!

There are more items on promotion, and we will reveal them real soon, so do check back with us! In the mean time, if you see something you like in the Jumbo June & July Promotion, grab it before it ends! You can check out the items on promo here.

That’s all for now. As always, if you like our posts, you can subscribe to our newsletters. Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

Last 2 Weeks Of Jumbo Jun-Jul Promotion!

Heya peeps! The Jumbo June-July Promotion is ending in about two weeks. So if you find anything you like, grab them before it ends! Here’s some items on promo:

We have items with up to 50% off,

Items selling as low as *RM2.15,

...and 5% discount on ALL Victorinox Knives!

If you see anything you like, step into one of our stores and check them out! You can find the locations of our stores via the link here.

If you prefer to buy online, just visit our website at https://www.professoruniforms.com and shop right there! We also provide **free shipping for orders above RM200!

As always, if you like our posts, subscribe to our newsletters! Until next time.

*All prices inclusive of 6% GST **Terms and conditions apply.

[professoruniforms]

5 Tips to Improve Our Public Speaking Skills

Does the thought of making a public speech scare you? Blank out on stage and legs turn into jelly? Well, you are definitely not alone. The editor has met people that are completely immune of stage fright, giving public speeches so effortlessly that are akin to donning an Iron Man suit against a mere water gun. Sadly, these creatures from another dimension are in the extreme minority, and for us mere mortals, we need all the help we can get to overcome stage fright. So, we have dug up 5 tips to help improve our public speaking skills!

*image credits to wintheroom.com

1) Know your stuff Knowing all your materials by heart is the best way to counter stage fright. Even if you made a mistake on stage, simply skip to the next point without apologising, and the audience probably wouldn’t even notice it. After all, it is you, not the audience, that knows your materials the best. Practice your presentation and record them in video so you can review them later and analyse the strong and weak points. Put the emphasis on your strong points and give the audience your best line from the get-go to capture their attention. Your audience will love it, and you will have an easier time with an engaged crowd.

2) Show gratitude It’s possible our first speech is in a classroom, and the audience is our classmates that might have chosen not to be present at all given the choice; in that situation it is understandable if there are a lack of enthusiasm from both parties. But for many other occasions, the audience chose to be there. Be sure to let them know you appreciate their presence from the bottom of your heart, and make sure your speech is something that will give the audience a great experience - whether it is learning something new, gaining value, or getting inspired. Think of it this way: the audience showed their support by showing up, so when you’re on stage, you’re there to give, not to take something away.

*image credits to drphil.com

3) Make eye contact with the audience Throwing out our best line may fire up the crowd, but it takes skills to keep the audience engaged. Making eye contact with the audience is a great way to keep them feel involved. Hey, but I’m afraid to be on stage, and now you want me to look the audience in the eye? I’ll freak out! Well, chances are you won’t. Looking at a single person among the audience in the eye makes us feel like we’re talking to that one person, thus lowering our fright. Of course staring at just one person would not help in getting the rest of the crowd feel involved (plus they’ll be thinking: is that person your special someone?), so applying a 3-second rule can be helpful: making a 3 second eye contact with a number of people in the crowd greatly increases their engagement, and we won’t feel as fearful in facing the audience.

4) Speak slowly When we get nervous, we tend to speed up our speeches, which in turn blurred our pronunciation and make it harder for the audience to catch our speech. Luckily here’s a tip everyone can follow: speak slowly, deliberately slower than our usual speed, and pause when necessary (also longer than normal) to regain your train of thought (and speech). The audience are more patient than you think, and if your speech roused their interest, they probably need a little time to think and reflect on it. If the audience was dosing off, a momentary silence is very effective in getting back their attention.

*image credits to bostinno.streetwise.co

5) Believe in what you preach It really makes a difference whether we believe in what we preach or not. If we’re having doubts about the speech materials, it’s better to scratch that part away. Believing in our speech allow us to use firm, direct words without the need of ambiguous terms, and are less likely to be affected by naysayers, thus enabling us to deliver a strong speech. Using firm words but doubting it can only get us so far. That said, if we’re presenting at a science conference, we should refrain from using strong words unless proven beyond reasonable doubts. That is, after all, the essence of scientific thinking:

A theory is only 'true' for as long as the majority of the scientific community maintain a consensus view that the theory is the one best able to explain the observations.  — Jim E. Baggott

Alas, that is all for this week. We’ll be posting similar tips on a regular basis, so be sure to check back! Or, you can subscribe to our free weekly newsletters!

While you’re at it, be sure to take a look at our ongoing promotions! Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

5 Tips To Improve Our Productivity

There may be times when our to-do list seem never ending. Worse, out of nowhere it may grow even longer as time goes by. But fear not! Now that we have talked about the useful habits we should steal from successful people, we went back and dig up tips that are not only useful in study, but are also applicable in our day-to-day life. Here’s 5 tips we could use to improve our day-to-day productivity!

*image credits to etsy.com

1) Getting enough sleep Few effects are as damaging to our productivity as lacking in sleep. The worst part? We seldom notice the negative effect ourselves, and tend to over-judge our own performance when in fact the drop in productivity is significant. While the general consensus is to get at least 8 hours of sleep, it differs from one to another and generally decreases while we age. Personally the editor think 9 hours is the optimal length. Research have shown that we go through a full sleep cycle in roughly 90 minutes, where REM sleep & deep sleep occurs. REM sleeps help reinforce our newly learned knowledge or skills, whereas our body begin to repair body tissues during deep sleeps. So if we absolutely have to reduce our sleep hours, make the changes in blocks of 90 minutes, like 7 and a half hours, or 6 hours. Don’t forget to sleep longer once the need to cut sleep is over so as to repay our sleep debt. We have also talked about a few tips to improve our sleep quality before.

2) Set priorities I think we have all heard of this before, yet there still seems to be a lot of people that focus their energy on urgent tasks rather than important tasks. Know that in the long run, it’s the important tasks that matter, not the urgent ones. Warren Buffet gave a good idea on how to set our priorities straight, and here’s a simplified way to guide our day to day goals: First, list down the top 10 most important goals we wish to achieve today. Then, select the top 2 from this list. Lastly, avoid the next 8 goals on the list AT ALL COST, and only focus on the top 2 goals. Research have shown that we tend to underestimate the time needed for us to complete a particular goal by as much as half of the actual time needed. Research also shows that instead of doing three to five things a day, it’s more productive to focus on just one or two things, per day. A good rule of thumb is to use the method above to find the top two goals of the day, and doubles the estimated completion time so as to not stretch ourselves too thin, and focus the energy to getting two goals done, instead of having five unfinished goals.

*image credits to funnyjunk.com

3) Remove distractions As pointed out in our study tips, preparing our environment before hand so as to minimize distractions goes a long way in boosting our productivity. Remove all electronic gadgets that are not needed in our task-at-hand from our view, and silence our phones. Some snacks may help us relieve stress, but if it became too much of a distraction, remove them for the duration we need to focus on our task. If we have an important long-term project at hand, let our friends and family know that we won’t be free in the near future, scratch all unrelated entries from our calendar (that are not as important as the task-at-hand, of course), switch off notifications from social media, limit our email checking to once or twice a day, and basically just make it difficult for others to contact us. Don’t feel bad, if it’s really important to us, we’ll have to learn to say no. If there are emergencies that require our attention, people will make the effort to contact us; if they didn’t it probably wasn’t worth our time. 

4) Train ourselves to relax and re-focus quickly There are times we might think that certain feats are beyond our abilities, that we couldn’t have pulled it off even if we tried. But the truth is, despite our talents (or lack thereof), there are many things that we could acquire through training. We may not do it as good, or learn it as fast, but it’s usually not one, but the cumulation and combination of many skills that matter. One such skill we could learn, is regaining focus quickly. It’s common for professional athletes to be under pressure and have only a few seconds of rest from time to time during a competition, so they tend to have developed a simple set of actions, a simple ritual if you will, to relax and regain focus quickly. This skill is applicable to our everyday life, as well. It could be just a simple set of stretching, a short walk, a minute of downtime sipping our favourite tea, or breaking into a dance! The editor finds the dance from Stephen Colbert to be a charming way to regain focus quickly.

*gif credits to imgur.com

5) Give ourselves periodic breaks We aren’t robots, we simply could not work not stop without having a dive in our performance. Besides, machine will outdo us in the “working non-stop” department any time, anywhere. So give us a break. Like, literally. Tony Schwartz, the author and founder of The Energy Project, has found that fatigue has a cycle, too, and it usually takes people around 90 minutes to go from being alert to being tired. Having periodic breaks every 90 minutes or so has not only proven to help in maintaining our productivity, but even doubles it in some cases. We can repeat the simple ritual in longer duration, or use the extra time to have a quick catch up with your colleagues or friends, or just squeeze in a few reps of exercise.

So there you have it. We hope these tips would help in keeping the to-do list short and sweet! If you like our posts, subscribe to our newsletters! Also, don’t forget to take a look at our ongoing promotions! Until next time.

[professoruniforms]

5 Habits We Should Steal From Successful People

Success has many definition to it, maybe as much as the population on Earth. Still, there’s little doubt that given chance, we all strive to be successful. What better way to achieve that, than to learn from the best? Observation is the staple of learning, and has been that way since the times of yore. By observing the people we strive to be, we can learn from them. Here’s 5 habits we should steal from successful people.

*image credits to bang2write.com

1) Set aside time to clear our thoughts Everyone needs a downtime, a time we set aside all to ourselves. The optimal time would be right after we woke up, and right before bedtime. It doesn’t have to be long, just an hour or so to be alone with our thoughts, decide on what we wish to accomplish today / the next day, and set our priorities straight. Arnold Schwarzenegger himself maintain a habit of meditation, and he describe it to have fundamentally changed the way he approach life. This period might be the only quiet time we have when we get busy, so it’s crucial in maintaining our mental health. Think of the things we appreciate and drown out those negative thoughts. We may never forget, but we can choose to let go.

*image credits to jessicamariek.wordpress.com

2) Keep our passion alight We always heard people saying we should listen to our heart and go for our dreams; undoubtedly a sage advice, but I can’t help but feel the emphasis was kinda off target. Sure, passion is the main driving force behind incredible feats people pulled off, but without maintenance, passion simply couldn’t sustain itself. The difference between people maintaining their passion for years versus those that died off in days, lies in exposure. The more frequent we expose ourselves to what we yearn for, the longer our passion hold. Wanna be a professional athlete? Our passion won’t hold long if we just practice by ourselves. Go check out the professional athletes we strive to be from time to time, and we’ll be reminded why we were so passionate before. This proves true in other field: Observing the best of the best is a surefire way (pardon the pun) to rekindle the flame and keep it going. Likewise, it wouldn’t help if we just stay in our comfort zone. Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “Do one thing everyday that scares you”. Excellence may have come from practice, but sitting in our comfort zone all day will only lead to stagnation. Excellence is therefore a continuous effort that requires sustained adaptation and improvement to pull off, and it’s the spark behind that drives the best of the best to achieve that, time after time. It’s this same spark that reaches out and tug at so many heart strings.

*image credits to iwantcovers.com

3) Read. A lot. Matoba Ryo beautifully captured the significance of reading in one of his book. He wrote that books are the cumulation of years, even decades of the author’s experience, so it’s like we’re merely spending a few thousand yen to buy their life experiences! He further describes the books as something akin to a recipe of success, one that we could use to significantly shorten the time we take to acquire skills by learning from the mistakes and successes of others. The emphasis on the importance of reading are shared by many successful people. Mark Zuckerberg, for example, started an online book club and made a vow to read one book every two weeks consistently for one year. By 15th of June, 2015, he has already read 12 books! Having so many benefits to reap from, the importance of reading cannot be stressed enough. Reading for an hour or two a day, after we woke up or sometime before we go to bed would be ideal.

*image credits to womenshealthmag.com

4) Take care of our body I’m sure we’ve all heard it before, but it’s still worth a mention. If we’re getting sick all year round, it would severely hamper what we set out to achieve. It’s therefore definitely worthwhile to take care of our own body. Exercise is one way to do it, and it doesn’t even have to be long. The CEO of Xerox, for example, has a habit to exercise bi-weekly for one hour with her trainer. I’m sure most of us could slide in one hour in two weeks for exercise, can’t we? Besides, it doesn’t have to be strainful or done in one go. A 10 minute long beginner yoga session, spaced out over a week (like maybe three times a week?), would help maintain our health. Obviously if we’re looking to keep our body fit we’ll need to put in more effort than that, but we don’t even need to go to gym to do that. Body weight training would suffice. Having several reps of thirty-seconds-plank a day would go a long way in keeping ourselves fit. Just don’t overdo it (2 minutes should be the max, 1 minute max if you haven’t exercise regularly), else we may hurt ourselves and develop costochondritis. Eating habits are also a key point in keeping us healthy. These alone are worthy of a post by itself, so suffice to say eating enough for breakfast, then having small portions throughout the day would be ideal (not to mention drinking water regularly).

*image credits to keepinspiring.me

5) Build a routine When it comes down to the line, it’s discipline that sets people apart. Research has shown that there are people that thrives during the day (early birds or morning types), people that thrives during the night (night owls or evening types), and people that are intermediates (about half the population actually), who can easily adapts to the different sleeping pattern without much repercussion. The differences are on a neural level, so it will be very difficult for a night owl to wake up early. There are pros and cons to being an early bird or a night owl, so it would be optimal to plan your day around your sleep pattern. Still, if we stick to a routine, our brain will start to adapt to it, and will mitigate some of the negative effect (i.e., drowsiness) so that even an early bird can stay awake late into the night. Sticking to a routine is also the best way to rack up our practice volume, and practice is the bread and butter of success. Without the large amount of practice to refine our skills, we wouldn’t be able to grasp the chance even if it was presented to us. As E. B. White puts it, “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.“

There are so many things that can be said on these topics, that even this lengthy post feels short in comparison. Alas, one has to stop somewhere. These will be all for this week. If you like our posts, subscribe to our newsletters!

On a different note, we’re in the last week of a limited time offer of 50-70% off some cool gadgets and a few limited edition items from the 14th Goodwill Camporee that you can’t get elsewhere, so be sure to check them out! bitly.com/1IF2aMe

Until next time.