A situation where you are focused entirely on the wrong piece of the puzzle. Although this is applicable to small-scale problems, this is more severe, and more urgent to address, that just WorkingOnTheWrongThing.
WorkingOnTheWrongThingAltogether does not mean the thing you are working on is not important, but simply that it shouldn't be done now, because there are more pressing things, or more fundamental things, to do first. Potential problems associated with this situation:
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you have no idea it's happening because you are engrossed in the minutia of this "wrong thing". Take a step back. Look at the big picture.
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it's possible that YouArentGonnaNeedIt, though this is more likely in a smaller-scale situation like WorkingOnTheWrongThing
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you might ask, if you are able to work on this, doesn't it mean it doesn't need to wait? No, if you consider WhatMayHaveToGo.
The biggest indicator of this is an inability to enter the MentalStateCalledFlow. Everyone is different, but if you haven't been able to flow for several days or weeks, you are very, very likely in this situation. You find yourself procrastinating heavily though you know you are not a ChronicProcrastinator. This is because on some subconscious level your mind is telling you that you are WorkingOnTheWrongThingAltogether. Set it down. Though this may be difficult and akin to steering the Titanic, if you do it early enough, you'll avoid an iceberg.