Creating A To Do List In WordPress

If you are a business owner, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, projects to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website updated with fresh content and everything can start becoming unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks to other people effectively.

A proven tool that can help you save time, reduce stress, and allow you to take control is to use a “to-do” list.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list helps you measure your progress as you work to achieve specific objectives. Your to do list can be detailed and very specific, or act as a concise reminder of tasks that need to be done over a given period of time.

Here are just a few of the many benefits of using to do lists:

Free Up Resources

Creating to do lists means that you won’t have to try to memorize things or store information inside your head. Once things are recorded on a to do list, your mind is free to process information and you can focus on other important areas.

Be More Strategic

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you view the bigger picture and formulate a strategy to get tasks completed effectively.

Quickly Reorganize And Reschedule

Using to-do lists let you better deal with events. If a meeting suddenly gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time has been made available when a task gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and continue working without loss of focus.

Reduce Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much to do and very little time to do it in. Using a to-do list lets you prioritize important tasks that need to be completed within the time you have available, and push out non-urgent items that can be addressed at a later time. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to take away some of the stress you (and your team) may be feeling.

Working With Others

Creating to do lists and other project management tools is essential for getting other people involved on some of your larger or more complex projects.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using to do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a systematic way and your business productivity and efficiency will surely improve.

What about adding to do lists to your WordPress website or blog?

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to create to do lists in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Download URL

http://wordpress.org/plugins/cleverness-to-do-list/

Plugin Description

This plugin lets you easily add a customizable to do list to your WordPress website or blog.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

Note: the plugin features listed below will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.

You can configure the plugin to assign private to do lists for individual users, to have all users share the same to do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to do list has a variety of settings available. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email new to do items to assigned users) and optionally to have those items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your list and the to do list can also display on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to-do list items on your site. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessible through the back-end admin section.

If you plan to run a multi-author site you can use the plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also download a copy of the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WordPress admin section scroll down the main menu choose Plugins > Add New …

In the Install Plugins screen, type in “cleverness” into the search field and hit Enter on your keyboard …

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List entry in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

Note: You can also activate this plugin from the Plugins screen …

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the settings area by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

The section below shows you how to configure the plugin …

Configuring The Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen is divided into 4 tabs:

• To-Do List Settings – This section is where you specify the plugin’s main settings.
• Advanced Settings – This area is where you can customize your To-Do lists, assign tasks to other users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – The options in this tab let you configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types.
• Import/Export – The options in this area let you import and export to-do plugin and list data settings.

Let’s configure each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your list into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item gets added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This lets you add categories that you can use to organize your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can set up ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

Private categories are not visible when using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how your to-do lists are viewed. You can choose three list views:

• Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option allows users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to-do list items will be sorted.

If you select Alphabetical, Category or ID options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which of your users has added an item to your to-do list.

Note: This setting only applies when ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for your to-do items.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author site or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, developed by the same author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more this handy plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner

Once you have configured your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

After configuring the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

In this screen you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform database maintenance.

Let’s take you through how to configure the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Customize The To-Do List

Here you can customize your To-Do List …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Date Format

In this section you can specify how to display dates on your to-do list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize your labels for important, normal and lowest priority items …

Items prioritized as “important” are shown in red in your lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs will display on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option displays the date the To-Do Items table was added …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings

If you have chosen ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the settings in this area and assign items to other users …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you assign to-do items to other users …

Note: This setting must be set to ‘Yes’ for the settings below it to work.

Show a User Only the To-Do Items Assigned to Them

Enabling this option lets you display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends users an email with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want emails sent out to users.

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip other settings in this section.

Add Category to Subject

If you have enabled categories in your plugin settings and select ‘Yes’ for this option, the to-do category will display in the subject of emails sent to users …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to-do categories displayed in the email subject.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to display categories in the subject of your emails.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, you have various project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

This field allows you to customize the “From” field when sending out email notices to users. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent out to users whenever a new item has been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Add the body of the email message that will be sent out automatically to users when a new item has been assigned to your to-do list.

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Database Cleanup

This section allows you to perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself without the need to log into your web server …

This is useful if, for example, you see that previously deleted items are still appearing on your site.

The tasks below can be performed:

• Delete Tables – Remove any custom database tables that you no longer use.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Remove all of your to-do items.

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your site yourself, then get professional WordPress support services, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to automate backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate And Keep Your WordPress Web Site Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you are using Individual List, the only configurable item that is applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to have access to for each option …

By default, general capabilities of each user role are configured as follows:

• Subscribers: Read
• Contributors: Edit Posts
• Authors: Publish Posts
• Editors: Edit Others Posts
• Administrators: Manage Options

Note: When working with the Master list type non-admin users should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s now review the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

This option permits the selected capability to view to-do items in the dashboard widget and on the To-Do List page under the ‘Tools’ section.

Complete To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This enables the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option allows the selected capability to view all tasks even if “Show Each User Only Their Assigned Tasks” is set to ‘Yes’.

Delete To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This setting permits the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This allows the selected capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may want to copy over data from one site to another, or export your list data for backup or reporting purposes.

To access this function, click on the ‘Import/Export’ tab in your plugin settings section …

Here you can easily import and export your list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

To export and download your data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This will open up a new window allowing you to view or download the data in plain text format to a storage device …

As well as exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your main menu and selecting Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in an export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘All content’ (includes everything – pages, posts, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to a storage medium…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a list data file, click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Select the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

After uploading your data file, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

Your file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing your lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress dashboard, then scroll down the menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

This brings up the ‘To-Do List’ page …

How To Add New Items To Your To-Do List

There are a number of ways to add new to-do items to your list.

For example, you can add new to-do items from your admin bar …

You can also add new to-do items to your list inside the Dashboard by clicking on the ‘Add To-Do item’ link …

You can also click on the ‘Add New Item’ link in the ‘To-Do Items’ section (note: only use this option if your To Do list already contains many items, since the link will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

All the methods shown above will take you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ section.

Depending on how you have configured your plugin settings, some options may not display when adding new items to your to-do list.

Configure the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the new item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign tasks to specific users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …

You can also make multiple users responsible for the same item (click on ‘x’ to remove a user) …

After After adding a new item, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding new items to your to-do list …

Edit And Remove Items From Your List

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons associated with items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your plugin configuration settings (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to do list, users can view the list from their own WordPress dashboard …

When users responsible for completing an item click on the item checkbox …

… the item is removed from the “To-Do” list …

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your website using widgets, and add a list to content inside a post or page using shortcodes.

Using The Plugin Widget

To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ page (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the menu location where you want your list to display …

Configure the settings on the widget and click on the ‘Save’ button …

Your list will display on your site where you have placed the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

To learn more about using widgets in WordPress, see the tutorial below:

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Short Codes

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin also lets you create to-do lists to your site using short codes.

To access the documentation on using short codes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your WP admin menu …

Click the ‘Help’ tab on the top right hand corner of your screen …

Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ tab to access the Shortcode Documentation …

The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists on your pages and posts.

Once you know what information you would like to add to your site, create a new page or post and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content editor …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed in the location where you added the short code …

To download this plugin, go here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add a to-do list to your WordPress site or blog.

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