Why Multitasking is More Dangerous Than You Think? The Day My Brain Merged Two Tasks (And I Didn’t Even Notice)
One of the most common habits we fall into is multitasking. I’ve always done it, working on multiple projects at the same time, thinking it made me more productive.
But something interesting happened to me recently that made me seriously question whether multitasking is actually a good idea at all.
For the past few days, I’ve been working on two different YouTube videos:
One about how to use Gemini and how to write better prompts to generate better images. (Link Here)
Another about how LinkedIn changed my life, along with tips and tricks for growth.
One day, something strange happened. About an hour after finishing some work, I had successfully completed everything for one of my videos: the banner, the YouTube title, the description, and even the scheduling. Everything looked good and perfect.
I had updated everything on YouTube and was just about to schedule the video to go public the next day.
But for checking, I shared the video with my best friend to review it. That’s when she pointed out something shocking.
“Why does the video talk about Gemini, but the title and thumbnail are about LinkedIn?”
I froze.
I had mixed up everything, and I didn’t even notice. Trust Me!!
The video itself was about Gemini, but the banner, title, and description were from the LinkedIn topic.
I checked multiple times everything before giving her
The Invisible Glitch
The scary part is that I wasn’t rushing. I worked calmly. I even double-checked the video. But my brain completely failed to register that I was working on two different topics at the same time.
What actually happened was this:
The Context: The day before, I had uploaded the raw Gemini video file.
The Interruption: Before sitting down to finish the Gemini metadata, I spent one or two hours working deeply on the LinkedIn content.
The Merge: Without realizing it, I carried the “LinkedIn context” over to the “Gemini task.”
When my friend pointed it out, I was completely blanked out. I was confused, not about the mistake, but how I missed something so obvious.
That’s when it hit me.
This is the real effect of multitasking.
Cost of Multitasking?
It isn’t just about working slower. It’s about context merging.
Your brain switches contexts so fast that, eventually, it stops switching and starts blending them together. You think you’re focused, but you aren’t fully present in either task. You feel productive, but your attention is fragmented.
So yes, this was a clear lesson for me.
Multitasking doesn’t just slow you down.
Sometimes, it quietly breaks your focus without you even realizing it.
And that’s far more dangerous.
In this case, the consequences weren’t that dangerous. But they could have been much worse.
Imagine a software engineer making this kind of mistake during a production release.
Or imagine a doctor mixing things up while treating a patient.
Small breaks in focus can lead to big consequences. That’s why attention and presence matter far more than trying to do everything at once.
What do you think? Should we do multitasking or not?
That’s all! I hope you learned something new or saw tech from a new angle. Until next time, keep learning and building!
I regularly share what I learn through weekly posts on LinkedIn, Dev. to, and Medium. Also, I run a small YouTube channel where I try to share helpful content for developers.
Sumonta Saha Mridul, Associate Software Engineer I, Cefalo Bangladesh Ltd.
YouTube: Code & Career Golpo
Medium: Sumonta Saha Mridul
Hashnode: Code & Career Golpo
Substack: Sumonta Saha Mridul | Substack
