Personally I like running around on planets, I collect mats as I go. For me collecting mats is just a by-product of whatever it is I am doing. If i feel like running around a planet and know i need arsenic, then i make sure i do so on a planet which give me a chance to get it. But yeah if you hate planets then I agree that could be a problem.How does that work when not in a hurry works out to getting something just after the heat death of the universe? Because if I never had to touch the surface of a planet to look for mats again I'd be fine with that. It's the only reason I have anything fitted with an SRV. And every time I have to use it it's a grind.
The only time it feels a bit grindy for me is when i feel like exploring and head out into the black and then the next day have to return to the bubble because i feel like hauling instead. But that is a grind of my own making.