bikeshedding mode

The mental state a team or individual enters when they've stopped solving real problems and started obsessing over inconsequential choices. Bikeshedding mode is active when you've been arguing about naming conventions for forty-five minutes, the Slack thread about logo kerning is longer than the product spec, and nobody can remember what the meeting was originally about. It's not malicious — it's usually what happens when a group is anxious about the hard stuff and subconsciously retreats to easy debates instead.