01 · Side by side

Side by side

Comparison sheet
AspectYak shavingProcrastination
Blocks the real taskGenuinelyNo
AvoidableNoYes
Looks identical from outsideYesYes
EndsEventuallyWhen you decide
02 · Which one you meant

Which one did you mean?

In shortReaders who land here meaning Yak Shaving rather than Procrastination are usually searching for phrases like “what is yak shaving”, “yak shaving meaning”, “why does every task lead to another task”.

Yak Shaving

  • “what is yak shaving”
  • “yak shaving meaning”
  • “why does every task lead to another task”
  • “yak shaving origin”
03 · The mix-up

Where the confusion comes from

The mix-up“Yak shaving just means procrastination.”
What's true

The canonical definition specifies a REAL dependency chain: 'a stupid, fiddly little task that bears no obvious relationship to what you're supposed to be working on, but yet a chain of twelve causal relations links what you're doing to the original meta-task'. The link is real. It is just long.

04 · Read either one

Read either one in full