[jrarredondo]

You were really learning through playing. Learning is an investment. Not all play is learning.

Another distinction is that children are fed by their parents. So if you have a "parent" in your company who "feeds" you then you can play a lot (of course, until they realize you are 18 and kick you out of the house).

OP's point is that you need to build code or sell code. If learning helps you do either one, then I think it is not procrastination.

[nine_k]

OP also seemed to learn a thing or two in the process. I suppose it's still valuable, it just does not usually pay off the same day.

Maybe 3 days of continued play is too much, though. It depends on urgency of other issues you might have.