I agree with you and I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone else make this point. Graduate school, and to a lesser extent post doc, is when you're supposed to dilly dally. Of course at the time it doesn't quite feel like that, but you are paid a meagre wage for a reason--to survive, but to not be comfortable. No extra money to go party, travel, etc. The devotion to the craft is supposed to be an almost pious experience. Even though it's simple, it is an incredible luxury most have never and will never get to experience (only a small percentage of the world obtains or even attends grad school for a PhD). With an eye on "getting out", you miss out on part of the beauty. I had many contemporaries through my studies like that. They were always stressed out and pushing to get home at 5pm, unlike us slackers who hung around and discussed tangential things but always with an eye toward connecting the dots. The ones who really excelled post grad school were the ones with vision and drive, not just drive alone, and the former always hung around shooting the shit because they appreciated the value derived from informal, idle chat.