[AceJohnny2]

Exactly. It's kind of related to yak-shaving, except the task you're spending time on may not at all be related to the one you should be focusing on.

I've more than once caught myself lovingly perfecting some utility script when, really, I had some more important stuff I should've been focusing on.

The reason, of course, is that I'm getting that rewarding feeling of accomplishment on the script, when I know the feeling will be further out (or unattainable) on the Main Task.