Now I've gone and done it

Turned off the notifications on my phone and iPad for e-mail messages, that is. I'm trying to pursue a more single-minded, less multi-tasking approach to life, and being interrupted every 10 minutes with a request to rate someone on Angie's List isn't helping my flow. I'm going to try to check (and respond) to e-mail and (shudder) Facebook twice a day ... okay, maybe three times, but that's IT.

One of my goals for this year is to live more mindfully. So much of the time we go through life trying to do so much at one time that large swaths of time just evaporate from our memories. It's like when you listen to an audiobook on a long drive - you may be doing a perfectly competent job of driving, and a fine job of listening, but I can almost guarantee that when you arrive at your destination you don't remember 3/4 of the trip. On 12-hour road trips, this is a blessing. But when it happens while you're trying to fix dinner, help with homework, have a conversation, and compose a blog post in your head ... well, you miss out on more important stuff than just the billboards along the Turnpike.

So at least for now I'm going solo - one task, one focus, one goal at a time. If I'm cleaning, that's what I'm focused on doing. If I'm talking to Liza, I'm actually going to give her my full attention. And I'm hoping that I'll be more able to notice the little moments of peace, and calm, and joy, and silliness that I know are in each day but have been passing by unnoticed.

So far today I have:
- Finally remembered to look at Liza's all-snow-man (good thing, too, as it has since melted)
- Looked up in Target and realized I was alone. There was absolutely no one within sight, or within earshot; no one was on the walkie-talkies, no babies were crying on the other side of the store. It was just me and the grocery shelves. Kind of odd, actually.
- Smiled indulgently at the three birds flitting hopefully around my (empty) feeder this morning. I hope they come back now that I have birdseed in it ...
- Found three checks that had become temporarily misplaced in the avalanche of mail and greeting cards on my desk. People who wanted to clear off their 2012 books - Celebrate! Yea verily they have been deposited, and there was much rejoicing!
- Realized that for the first time in 15 years, I could dump an armload of grocery bags on the floor inside the front door and go back for more without worrying about Zach savaging any of the food inside. And then I sniffled a bit for the same reason.
- Written an entire blog post without once checking my e-mail, Facebook, or my blog reader, much less stopping to pay bills or unload the dishwasher. Go, me!

So we'll see how this goes. Tell me, what do you do to make sure the little moments in life don't skip past your notice each day?