Yak Shaving

I often find myself shaving a lot of Yaks. What does that mean, you ask?

Well, MIT Media Lab turned it into a computer term about 5 years ago and it is defined as:

Any seemingly pointless activity which is actually necessary to solve a problem which solves a problem which, several levels of recursion later, solves the real problem you're working on.

Here is a non-technical way to explain it:

"I want to wax the car today."

"Oops, the hose is still broken from the winter. I'll need to buy a new one at Home Depot."

"But Home Depot is down the tollway and getting there without my toll tag is miserable because of the tolls."

"But, wait! I could borrow my neighbor's toll tag...."

"Bob won't lend me his toll tag until I return the mooshi pillow my son borrowed, though."

"And we haven't returned it because some of the stuffing fell out and we need to get some yak hair to restuff it."

And the next thing you know, you're at the zoo, shaving a yak, all so you can wax your car.

I find myself doing this whenever I am working in the yard, working on my car, cleaning the house or basically any type of activity.

Do you often find yourself Shaving a Yak?