Yak Shaving: The Silent Productivity Killer

Ever sit down to do one task... and 3 hours later, you're deep in a completely unrelated rabbit hole?

That's yak shaving — doing a chain of tangential tasks that delay the real goal.

Example

You want to deploy your app → need to update a dependency → realize your CLI is outdated → end up debugging your entire dev setup.

Result: your app is still not deployed.

Yak shaving feels productive — but it's often a distraction in disguise.

How to fight it

• Stay focused on the original goal
• Log blockers or bugs — don't fix them on the spot
• Prioritize and timebox distractions
• Embrace "done is better than perfect"

Every minute spent on the wrong yak adds up.

Shave wisely.