Bikeshedding—The art of wasting time on trivial things

Law of triviality

Imagine a financial committee meeting is being held to discuss three very different projects:

• $10M nuclear power plant ☢️🏭

• $350 bike shed for employees 🚲🛖

• $20 annual coffee budget ☕️

Now, how do you think the meeting plays out?

It kicks off with the nuclear power plant discussion, the most important agenda. But then, no one knows exactly what to say. 🤷🏻‍♀️ There's one expert in the room, but it’s nearly impossible for her to simplify complex concepts for everyone, so she stays quiet.

Ten minutes later, after a round of “let’s circle back later,” they move on to the bike shed.

Suddenly, everyone has something to say about the bike shed. They spend a solid half-hour arguing over the color of paint to use. Yes, the paint. And don't even get me started on the next item on the agenda—the coffee budget.

At this point, even the guy who’s been snoozing through the whole meeting wakes up and gets involved. You can guess how long that conversation lasts.

Welcome to bikeshedding—a phenomenon where we focus an absurd amount of time on trivial matters while completely avoiding the important stuff. It's also known as Parkinson's Law of Triviality, coined by British historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson in the 1950s.

He observed that committees tend to spend far more time on less important issues (like the color of paint for a shed) than on things that actually matter (like the nuclear power plant).

We see bikeshedding happening all around us, every day, at work, at school, and even in our personal lives. It sneaks into our productivity and eats up valuable time.

A few everyday examples of bikeshedding:

• A teacher spends half of the class telling personal stories instead of diving into critical scientific theories.

• A meeting at work drags on endlessly without making any real decisions.

• Email chains stretch on for weeks without solving the core issue.

How to stop falling into the bikeshedding trap?

It’s all about shifting our mindset and avoiding the urge to focus on the small stuff.

Here’s how we can tackle it head-on:

1. It’s okay to listen, not speak.
   In a meeting, if the topic is outside your area of expertise, it’s perfectly fine to stay silent. You don’t always have to contribute your opinion just because you’re in the room. No one’s judging you. They're too busy trying to make their own point.

2. Experts matter more than opinions.
   As a leader, don’t feel compelled to give everyone’s opinion the same weight. Expertise should hold more sway than general opinions. e.g., in creative fields like design or writing, it’s tempting for everyone to chime in on things like the button color or font because those are easy to have an opinion on. But no one’s questioning the developer on their complex algorithm—that's beyond the layperson.

3. Meetings should have a clear purpose.
   Before any meeting, make sure you know exactly what decisions need to be made and who needs to be there to make them. Too many people in a room leads to too many cooks in the kitchen.

4. Have a clear decision-maker.
   While it's important to hear opinions from everyone, there should always be one person accountable for the final decision. It doesn’t always have to be the boss, either. Assign a decision-maker based on the topic at hand, and make sure everyone knows who’s leading the charge. It's not a democracy, it's about making sure things move forward.

It’s easy to get stuck in bikeshedding, where the little things overshadow what really matters. The trick is to recognize when we’re doing it and refocus our energy on the bigger picture.

A good leader knows how to keep the discussion productive, make informed decisions, and avoid wasting time on things that don’t move the needle forward.

So, the next time you find yourself debating over the color of the bike shed—or, you know, the perfect font for that email—ask yourself: Is this really the best use of my time?

Let’s shift our focus back to what truly matters, take action, and drive progress.