Time Management and Prodctivity

I sometimes resolute that will finish all the studying a week before exam, but then find myself cramming up to the last minute before the exam starts.
Now, I would suspect that some people are finishing their readings and exercises earlier. Who are those people? better time managers? Book worms? Definitely a PhD program requires a tunnel vision, a continous and tenacious focus for four to five years on a particular field of study. Now, the opportunity cost of achieving this depth is we are missing out on breadth of life! So many things are happening around us...bird chimes, little art festivals, little wild flowers and herbs are growing and dying each day in the rural south..the real south? But we are missing out on these, hope some day we will catch up with these stuff, or, will we ever?