Not long ago, Apple rectified a big gaffe in the iPhone/iPod Touch by allowing developers to start creating applications. A whole heard of new possibilities opened up (many ridiculous, silly, or just plain weird). However, the productivity capacity of the iPhone/Touch went up as people like the good folks at Appigo created apps that would allow GTDers like me to keep up with their lists. Now, joy of joys, Remember the Milk has released its own application that allows RTM to go anywhere, with or without wi-fi. As soon as I got the news, I downloaded the app. Here’s my review.

First a few tech details. I run Mac OS on everything and I use an iPod Touch. The first thing I discovered was that I couldn’t find the RTM app in the App Store from my iPod. I turned to the newly unveiled App Store in iTunes and snagged the app, then discovered that to use it, I needed to update both iTunes and my iPod software. Once that was done, the app worked seamlessly. You must have an RTM Pro account to use it—if you don’t already have one, you get a free 15-day trial when you download the app. (The Pro account is a measly $25 a year and for me, just for the customer service alone, has been well worth it.)

The interface on the iPod is just plain pretty, far clearer than the previous, Safari-based interface. Once I logged in, it quickly synced with my tasks and presented me with my “today” list. Overdue tasks have the due dates in red (and yes, I’ve got a couple of stale projects hanging around). As far as I can tell, there is no way to set a particular list to be the default, base list that opens up every time you launch the app. For me, this is no big deal because “today” is my default list. But if you have some other context you’ve come up with that is your favorite view, you’ll have to navigate to the list manually every time. Other than that, I haven’t found anything not to like.

The app is easy to navigate and use. It works seamlessly on and off line. It syncs quickly  and so far, without a hitch. I even found a new feature I didn’t know I had: put an email address in a note (in either the app or the browser based version) and lo, it becomes a live mail-to link. Cool!

I am very, very happy to endorse the iPod app version of RTM. It’s a program I’ve come to depend on as a key part of my trusted system and it just got even better.

Consider this: yesterday, I—as an American citizen—exercised my right to vote. No one threatened me or impeded me in exercising my choice to elect my candidates. I was simply allowed to vote as my conscience dictated. Despite all that’s wrong with the economy, I enjoy great abundance. Abundance isn’t wealth, by the way. Abundance is having enough. Enough work, enough security, enough joy. Truth is, my cup literally overflows. Best of all, I am free. Free to choose how I spend my time, what I focus my efforts on. Yes, life is great.

Last night, as I watched history in the making, I thought a lot about hope and optimism and what it means to work for a better future. I’ve predicated much of my life on the belief that one person can make a difference. As one person working to make a difference, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have helped people. My contribution may be small but it’s real and that’s what gets me up and going everyday—I know for sure that I make a difference for the better.

No matter what your view of the election results may be, you, too, can work to do good things and bring the promise of a better future into being. You can do it in small ways like being kind to someone at work or a stranger on the street. You can do it in big ways by putting your hands to a cause like feeding the hungry or cleaning up the environment. Never doubt that you matter—you matter a lot, more than you’ll ever be able to comprehend. When you use your talents, strengths, gifts, and skills to work for a better tomorrow, you bring greatness into the world and that means the world is a better place for having you in it.

To echo a sentiment expressed so eloquently last night: Yes, we can. We can work for peace and justice. Yes, we can. We can work for fairness and equality. Yes, we can. We can make the world a better place. Yes, we can. And we will. And we will succeed.

Psychologists think that one part of the answer may be in what they term “cooling the hot stimulus.” In the famous marshmallow test, kids who were able to wait for the bigger prize instead of snatching the smaller one tried to distract themselves from the very present temptation of immediate gratification. This ability to productively distraction one’s self accesses the higher, more thoughtful parts of the brain. These areas of the brain are thought to be “cooler,” as in less liable to give in to impulses. People who are good at cooling the hot stimulus turn out to be better at working toward long-term goals, too.

Not only does being able to cool yourself down and act more rationally help you to stave off short-term temptations but raising the stakes by making a promise to someone about something you’ll do works even better. Research by Yale economics professor Dean Karlan, shows that people who stake their money or their reputation are far more likely to succeed when tackling a difficult goal.

Next time you’re thinking about a long-term goal like quitting smoking, losing weight, or sticking to a budget, give some thought to getting an accountability partner. You might try something like Stickk which allows you to make your commitment, raise the stakes by putting some “skin the game,” and then track your progress with the help of a “referee.” If you need a more hands-on sort of help, hiring a coach might do the trick.

No matter what approach you choose, learning how to stay cool will yield lots of rewards. Give it a try!

This sounds like a very simple test of your patience but your reaction to such a test tells much more about you that you might imagine. It’s my hypothetical version of the a test conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel. Mischel conducted his experiment with little kids and marshmallows. The children who were willing to wait and get a bigger prize (in his test, more marshmallows) turned out to be better at all sorts of other waiting games, too. Like social skills, being reliable, academic achievement, even performance on standardized tests. And 40 years later, the now-grown up kids who were good at staying the course for more marshmallows later on are still achieving more than their less patient peers. Now, with the help of high-tech brain scans, neuroscientists are learning what makes these folks tick.

It turns out that your ability to clearly imagine a future payoff may be the key. When your brain processes a situation that involves delaying gratification, it accesses your anterior prefrontal cortex. This section of your brain is responsible for things like keeping track of your goals and aspirations as well as solving problems that require some imagination. If you’re able to clearly imagine using that laptop, say, and how helpful it’ll be in your everyday life, then you might be better at waiting for it and working toward it over the long haul.