INFORMS Open Forum

  • 1.  INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 08-30-2022 08:32

    The INFORMS Book Club will be reading Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. As you're reading the book, this thread is the place to post any discussion questions and/or interesting points that you'd like to talk about during our Zoom calls on Sept. 29th and Oct. 27th. Alternatively, you can email your questions/discussion points to jcapello@informs.org and we'll post them for you. 

    If you're interested in participating, please register for the calls using the links below.

    REGISTER for Sept. 29th : https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlf-uorzorGNDFTgnVrSB4p4U9Cc447FLV

    REGISTER for Oct. 27th: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvcOigpzkiEt1m5IwllYa_gQfhQbTqicjX



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    Jill Capello
    Membership Associate
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
    jcapello@informs.org
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 09-09-2022 13:13
    So, what do you think of the book so far? Any points that hit home? Or do you disagree with something the author said? My favorite quote so far is "the trouble with attempting to master your time, it turns out, is that time ends up mastering you". He talks about when we successfully find more time in our day, that time is inevitably filled with other things we must get done - so we need to realize that it's a losing battle, and be okay with that. I'm looking forward to reading more about just how to do that.

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    Jill Capello
    Membership Associate
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
    jcapello@informs.org
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 09-15-2022 07:38

    Thank you for organizing the book club, Jill. I'm looking forward to the first discussion in 2 weeks (29 Sept) and the final one in October!

    My favorite quote so far is "Productivity is a trap. Becoming more efficient just makes you more rushed, and trying to clear the decks skimpily makes them fill up again faster. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved "work-life balance" … The day will never arrive when you finally have everything under control … when the fully optimized person you've become can turn, at long last, to the things life is really supposed to be about. Let's start by admitting defeat: none of this is ever going to happen."

    I'm willing to admit defeat, but I probably need to start acting more like I've been "defeated" (to concentrate on "the things life is really about") and acting less like I think I can still "win" (trying for inbox zero, always having too much to do, trying to get things under control, catching up on everything instead of only the important things, etc.).

    John



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    John Clifford
    Alexandria, VA, United States
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 09-20-2022 12:10
    What are your thoughts on the book? Is there any particular point the author has brought up that really resonates with you? Here's the quote I've been focused on: "Once you truly understand that you're guaranteed to miss out on almost every experience the world has to offer, the fact that there are so many you still haven't experienced stops feeling like a problem. Instead, you get to focus on fully enjoying the tiny slice of experience you actually do have time for..." As I read this the first time, it felt so fatalistic and rather depressing. But after thinking about it and rereading the section, it's basically telling us what we've been hearing - we need to learn to focus on the hear and now, and stop worrying about the past/future. 

    Reminder: Our discussion of Part 1 of the book will be held on September 29th from noon - 1.

    ------------------------------
    Jill Capello
    Membership Associate
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
    jcapello@informs.org
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 09-21-2022 10:44
    Edited by Christiane Barz 09-21-2022 10:46
    Hi Jill, so far, this advice of making a list of the top 25 things you want to accomplish and then to actively avoid items 6-25 on that list sounded so true and depressing at the same time that I stopped reading for a while....

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    Christiane Barz
    University of Zurich
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 09-26-2022 08:42
    What did you think of the point the author made about convenience? "Convenience, in other words, makes things easy, but without regard to whether easiness is truly what's most valuable in any given context." He talks about the service that allows you to design and remotely send a card - removing the time it takes for us to go to an actual store, choose an appropriate card, handwrite a message, take it to a mailbox, etc... So he's saying it's not the thought that counts - it's the effort. 

    I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on our call on Thursday at noon!

    ------------------------------
    Jill Capello
    Membership Associate
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
    jcapello@informs.org
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 10-17-2022 12:00
    I look forward to joining the call on the 27th! I just joined INFORMS today and ordered the book today as well.

    Thanks,
    Meena Al-Azzawe

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    Meena Al-Azzawe
    Center of Excellence Principal
    Kinaxis
    Hillsboro OR
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  • 8.  RE: INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 10-18-2022 06:59
    Hi Meena,

    We're so happy to hear you'll be joining us for the next call. We had some really interesting discussions during the first call.

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    Jill Capello
    Membership Associate
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
    jcapello@informs.org
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 10-24-2022 09:57
    Are you ready for our next Book Club meeting? It's this Thursday, October 27th at noon. We'll be discussing the second half of the book "Four Thousand Weeks - Time Management for Mortals". What points interested you that you'd like to discuss? I thought the author's ideas about hobbies were interesting - "In an age of instrumentalisation, the hobbyist is a subversive: he insists that some things are worth doing for themselves alone, despite offering no pay-offs in terms of productivity or profit." Never thought of my hobby of gardening as being subversive! In case you haven't registered yet for this meeting, here's the link:

    REGISTER for Oct. 27th: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvcOigpzkiEt1m5IwllYa_gQfhQbTqicjX

    ------------------------------
    Jill Capello
    Membership Associate
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
    jcapello@informs.org
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: INFORMS Book Club Discussion Thread

    Posted 10-27-2022 13:38
    Thank you to everyone who participated in our first INFORMS Book Club! We had a really interesting discussion today. For our next book, we'll be reading "Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know" by Adam Grant. We plan to have the discussion call on Thursday, December 8th at noon. We hope you'll consider joining the club!

    Here is the registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvcuytpzgpG92myIaghG01iwa9LxLTYjxu

    ------------------------------
    Jill Capello
    Membership Associate
    INFORMS
    Catonsville MD
    jcapello@informs.org
    ------------------------------



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