Others already mentioned the escapist desire. I agree with that to an extent. We do want to run away from difficult tasks and one way is to think of what else w

Others already mentioned the escapist desire. I agree with that to an extent. We do want to run away from difficult tasks and one way is to think of what else we could be doing. Learning is usually thought of as universally positive, which makes it as guilt-free a distraction as you can get. You're not escaping. You're learning! But I think something else could also contribute. Self drive is really difficult, which is why we waste so much of our free time. We built really good structures with incentives and penalties that force us to be productive even when we don't want to. Those are generally workplaces and classrooms, or just general life responsibilities and chores. When you get productive doing something you don't want, naturally your first thought is what would I do with this productivity if I had a choice? Essentially, there are structures that motivates us to be productive in areas we don't want, and we wish we could use that in the areas we do want because our self drive is weak. That's my theory any way.