磨刀不误砍柴工

磨刀不誤砍柴工
módāobùwùkǎncháigōng
  1. lit. sharpening the axe won't make the wood-splitting take longer (idiom)
  2. fig. time invested in preparations is not lost
  3. a beard well lathered is half shaved

CEDICT

Making full preparation will not delay your job but quicken the process.

Wiktionary

花时间充分做好准备，不但不会影响工作进度，而且可以加速工作进程

維基詞典

Entry Composition

1 磨刀 módāo to hone (a knife)
2 不误 bùwù used in expressions of the form 照 zhào + {verb} + 不误 bùwù, in which 照 zhào means "as before", and the overall meaning is "carry on (doing sth) regardless" or "continue (to do sth) in spite of changed circumstances", e.g. 照买不误 zhàomǎibùwù, to keep on buying (a product) regardless (of price hikes)
3 砍柴 kǎnchái to chop firewood
4 工 gōng
  1. work
  2. worker
  3. skill
  4. profession
  5. trade
  6. craft
  7. labor