People who do world-building for their creative projects, do you ever get the feeling that you're wasting your time?

This is something that I once heard Neil Gaiman say during an interview at a writer's conference. He was talking about how world-building can help you write a good story, but how it also distracts from the finished product if you spend too much time on it. <br><br>He said something along the lines of, "So yeah, I know what's across the ocean that nobody's ever gone to. I know where the witches come from...I know all that stuff, and I can use that as I go along, but it's not what's important."<br><br>I'm starting to feel the same way. I've been working on a novel for the past 10 years or so, and I think I've *finally* figured out how all the magic works in my universe, after years of trying to model a magic system after D&D, and then continually finding flaws in it. I've now done the same thing with the world's religious systems, the royal family histories and sieges, and the different nations, and I just now am getting ready to write the story. <br><br>So I don't know, maybe I've just hit a milestone, and that's why I'm feeling so anxious. But to everyone out there who does world-building for their stories and games, do you ever get the feeling like you're wasting your time?<br><br>&#x200B;