I don't know if it is a good translation, it's litteral but I don't know if english natives use this expression "have the head in the handlebars". It means be busy with something and not be able to have a look somewhere else...
It was my case yesterday. I would improve the blog and add pagination. I did it but I got a problem with the images which were the same on each pages (they don't upload like the text). I focused on it, searched and tested many solutions with the 'LocalStorage', 'data-src', 'useEffect', ... and I couldn't stop to search till the time I said myself : 'STOP'! It is not the purpose of this project.
This is a big problem in my life, when I'm in trouble or when something is not perfect, everything else is put aside, I go round and round like a fish in its bowl and can't stop searching for solutions until I find it. It is very tiring.
I have to correct this side of myself and I'm proud of saying 'stop'.
Have a good day :)