#1 Common sense: Now that I have a break between chores, instead of doing nothing but watching time goes by, why not find something meaningful to do?

The scientific mind: Researchers tend to make good use of the waiting periods (e.g. incubation time, reaction time) between experimental procedures. Things like labeling tubes, cleaning up, preparing reagents, having a lunch or coffee break, etc. can be done during this time. Good researchers THINK AHEAD and see what can be done in between experiments so that their time is maximized.