Frustrated, the officer asked, "are you sure this is where you dropped your keys?""Oh, no," said the man. "I dropped them across the street, but the light is much better here."
The streetlight effect can mislead you into doing something you know you can complete, rather than the thing that will help with the main problem you're facing.
Cleaning is important, but in that situation it may be more of a distraction than a helpful behavior. It's looking where the light is, not where your keys are.
The more difficult something is, the easier it will feel to switch gears to feel productive, but in the end, the only way past a difficult obstacle is through it.