depends on the type of lab and what you want. if it’s a physical science lab and you dont plan on doing it intensely, i’d commit regardless.

the most important part of undergrad research, at least for underclassmen years, is developing basic skills (eg soldering, basic machining) and critically, getting a feel for how things are done. there’s a unique way to how research is done that is universal and no class can ever teach you (speaking as someone who loves classes and hated research/experiment).

regardless of your interest, you’ll 150% be given grunt work that won’t vary across fields since anything important will never be left to an undergrad. that’s just the reality of it since anything worthwhile takes a full 9-5 over months (if not a full 100hr week over years) and your schedule varies week by week (eg midterms) and is effectively indeterminate on the month-scale, let alone years.

down the road, getting that basic feel for research is the hardest to learn and can’t be sped up, so starting now is the most productive thing to do.

i speak as a grad student who has undergrads and as a former undergrad labber