Creating A To Do List In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you run a hectic business or manage a team.

There is just so much to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and everything suddenly begins to feel unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, it’s important to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.

A ”tried and true” method that can help you save time, alleviate stress, and allow you to take control is to use “to do” lists.

To Do Lists – Benefits

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

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

Free Up Resources

Creating to-do lists means that you don’t have to try to memorize things or store unnecessary information inside your brain. Once tasks are written down on a to do list, your head is free to process other information and you can focus on other important areas.

Be More Strategic

Creating and organizing to do lists helps you break down larger projects into more doable tasks and formulate a strategic plan for getting things completed efficiently.

Keep Documented Work Logs

A to do list allows you to keep documented logs of what work has been done. You can use this as evidence of work to employers or clients, or just as a means of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Relieve Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many things that needs doing and so little time to do it all in. Creating to do lists allow you to prioritize important items that have to get done immediately, and push out items that can be addressed later. This can help reduce stress.

Better Delegation

A to-do list helps you better delegate tasks to other people. This is also important if you plan to work on a team-based project (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to-do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to do lists, prioritizing tasks and working in a focused way improves productivity and efficiency in your business.

What about using a to do list on your website?

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to add a to-do list to a WordPress site to help your team get things done  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list plugin for WordPress called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This WordPress plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Plugin Features

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

You can configure Cleverness To Do List with private to do lists for each user, to have all users share a to do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

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

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your list and the to-do lists are also listed on a dashboard widget.

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

If you plan to set up a multi-author blog you can use this plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post planners if you also own the Post Planner plugin.

How To Install The Plugin

Log into your WP admin area and in the main menu select Plugins > Add New …

In the Install Plugins screen, type in “cleverness” into the search field and click Enter …

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Click “Activate Plugin” …

Note: You can also activate this plugin in the Plugins area …

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s ‘Settings’ section can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ screen …

The section below shows you how to go through the plugin setup process …

Setting Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Let’s configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

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

You can create ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your to-do lists.

Categories set to ‘private’ will not be visible using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to specify how lists will be viewed. You can choose three to-do list views:

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to be able to share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option 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

Enabling this option displays completion dates for to-do items.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

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

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to 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 list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a collaborative site or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more about using this plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner

When you have finished configuring your plugin options in this section, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

After configuring the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

In this tab you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform plugin 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to customize your To Do List …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates on your todo lists (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

In this section you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest (important), middle and low items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), the item’s ID show on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added will show on the To-Do Items table …

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

If you have selected ‘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 area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option to assign tasks to other users …

Note: This set this option to ‘Yes’ for the settings below it to work.

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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) will display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area Author displays the type of users that can be assigned items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then leave its check box unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send users an email with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to send out emails to users.

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the other settings in this section.

Add Category to Subject

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

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to show categories in the subject of your emails.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want categories to show 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 is a useful option if you have several 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 emails. Enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Type into this field the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add into this field a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users when a new item has been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, 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

In this section you can carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself without having to log into your server …

This is useful if, for example, you notice that todo items you have deleted are still listed on your site.

You can perform the following tasks:

• Delete Tables – Remove custom database tables that you are no longer using.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all to-do items.

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to carry out database operations in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to perform site backups, then use the services of a professional, or use backup plugins. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Clone And Protect Your WordPress Site With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen the Individual List type, the only configurable item that applies in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are configuring user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to be able to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities for each user role are set 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 make sure that you only permit non-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s review the settings in this section:

View To-Do List

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

Complete To-Do Item Capability

This permits the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This enables the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may want to transfer data from one site to another, or export the 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 export and import your list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a window allowing you to download and save your data as plain text to an internal or external storage device …

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

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – pages, posts, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to an internal or external hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

Importing a list data file is easy. Just click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Select the file and click ‘Open’ …

After your data file has been uploaded in your settings area, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can start create and edit your lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

Add New Items To Your To-Do List

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

For example, you can add new to-do items to your list from your WP dashboard toolbar …

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 is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

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

Depending on how you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add new to-do items.

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

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign responsibilities over items to 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 users) …

Once a new item has been added, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat the above process to continue adding new items to your list …

Editing And Deleting To-Do Items From Your List

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

Depending on how you have set up the plugin (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When the user assigned with an item completes the task and clicks on the item checkbox …

… the item no longer appears in the “To-Do” list …

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and add a list to content inside a post or page using short codes.

Using The Plugin Widget

To add to-do lists 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 would like the list to display …

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

Your to-do list will appear on your site where the ‘to-do-list’ widget was inserted (e.g. 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 and checklists on your site using shortcodes.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the dashboard menu …

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

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

The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use short codes to display lists and checklists on your posts and pages.

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the shortcode into the content area …

Publish your post or page and you will see the list showing in the location where you entered the shortcode …

For more details about this plugin, visit the plugin website:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add a to-do list in WordPress.

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