hmm, I've understood the term used to describe situations where people wind up wasting time doing things that seem important at the time (ie shaving the yak to

hmm, I've understood the term used to describe situations where people wind up wasting time doing things that seem important at the time (ie shaving the yak to get the wool to make the sponge to wash the car), but are really unnecessary - you should have just bought a sponge at the store and got on with washing the car...