Well-structured events include a lot of activities and fill the schedule -- because most people enjoy that, and find it useful to have a set calendar.
But with just a little bit of pre-planning, you can almost always do better. Events get set with a calendar that's to appeal broadly to everyone. So if you're going on a tour or going to a conference, there's a good chance that at least 20% of the activities there are less useful or appealing to you.
What to do? Make your own calendar! Sometimes it's not possible, but you'd be surprised how often it is. When you skip out of an event that's not your forte to do your work, to lift weights, or even just to get a breather and recharge, you give yourself a better chance of continuing what you're working on AND enjoying the rest of things.
I just skipped a technical session at a conference I was at, and lifted weights in the gym. I'm sure it was fantastic, but I knew I wasn't interested and wasn't likely to implement anything from it in the next couple months (and past that, the memory retention wouldn't be good anyways).
I left my hotel keycard in the gym by accident, and while I was waiting in line to get a new one, I mentioned I'd left the card in the gym to a couple co-attendees. I was asked incredulously, "When did you find time to do that?"
Well, I skipped that session I wasn't so interested in to lift. And it came somewhat as a surprise, because can you do that?
Sure you can. Of course you can. Hell, with good reasoning and being courteous and explaining well, you can actually skip a lot of seemingly mandatory things in companies or schools too. You want to be careful not to upstage anyone, but if you're smart you absolutely should be skipping 10-20% of what's on the calendar if it doesn't appeal to you and where no one will miss you.
Command your own schedule. You certainly can do a better job at it than anyone else.