That has been written about quite a bit. Can't remember any of the terms placed on it, but I've seen many Hacker News entries about maximizing that phenomenon.
The phrase coming to mind is productive procrastination.
This isn't easy, but sometimes it works for me. One of the tricks is making sure it really is productive. For example, I work from home so picking up around the house or doing dishes can actually be very productive/helpful for me, but I've definitely found myself bogged down in mindless tasks that didn't really move the needle.
I have always thought that there are some "normal motivators" that are not commonly known.
for example, there are tasks I get done when procrastinating a higher-importance task.
(like getting cleaning done while procrastinating a term paper)