Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to waste time on trivial activities; thus buggerlugging n.

1833		Ely’s Hawk & Buzzard (NY) Sept. 14 n.p.: ‘Damn lubberly fist [...] a damned bugger-lugging piece of work’.
1880		Bailey Danbury Boom 37: You expect I can prepare myself for the responsibilities of a public station, and empty out slops, and do all kinds of buggerlugging at the same time [HDAS].
1894		W.J. Henderson Sea Yarns 50: Doldrums [...] There ain’t no wind at all, an you jess buggalug aroun’. [Ibid.] 78: ’Twarn’t no ... time fur the skipper to be buggaluggin’ aroun’ down below.