Sometimes the villagers get a one-tracked mind and will want to do laundry or water the field or push the boulder, etc. It seems like it takes forever to build up research points, especially in the beginning.

I always feel a little tinge of guilt when I disrupt their deviant plans and drop them back on the research table, but hey... they are there to serve me, right! I've got miles to go and puzzles to solve before I sleep, even if it is late at night.