Creating To-Do Lists In WordPress

If you run a hectic business, time always seems to be in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never ends.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and everything can suddenly begin to feel unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks and responsibilities to members of your team or staff efficiently.

One proven tool that can help you save time, alleviate stress, and allow you to take control is to use “to-do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using To Do Lists

A “to-do” list helps you measure your progress as you work towards specific goals. Your to-do list can be very detailed and very specific, or serve as a reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Stay Organized

To-do lists help you create order, stay organized and achieve goals faster.

Prioritize Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time better. You can develop a clearer perspective on what’s more urgent vs what is not, and what tasks should be done first.

Keep Documented Work Logs

A to do list allows you to maintain documented logs of what has been done. This can be used as evidence of work done to employers or clients, or simply as a way of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and impact your productivity.

Better Delegation

A to-do list helps you better assign tasks to others. This is also important if you plan to collaborate with others (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, then prioritizing tasks and working in a systematic way increases efficiency and productivity in your business.

What about adding a to do list to your website or blog?

In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to do lists to a WordPress site to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list plugin for WordPress called 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 customizable to do lists to your WP website or blog.

Plugin Features

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

You can set up the plugin to have 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 option provides different settings. You can delegate to do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email new to-do items to users) and optionally to have those items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included in the front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to do list items on your blog. There are two short codes for front-end administration of your list. Category management is accessed via the back-end.

If you plan to run a multi-author blog you can use the to-do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also install the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

How To Install The Plugin

Log into your WordPress administration area and select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s set up the plugin …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Let’s review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

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

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

Categories marked ‘private’ are not visible using 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. There are 3 list views you can select:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets each user create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – Use this option 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 adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to sort to-do list items.

If you choose 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 members has added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled, you can 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 Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled, 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 your to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author website 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 …

Visit this site to learn more this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

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

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This screen lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and carry out plugin database maintenance tasks.

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

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

In this section you can 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 relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this section you can customize the labels for highest, middle and low priority items …

Items given the highest priority are shown in red in the lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, item IDs show on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option will display the date the table of items was added …

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

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

The following settings can be configured in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If this option is enabled, you can 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 specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section Contributor to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. Leave the check box unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled, WordPress will automatically send an email to users 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 the 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 on the subject of your emails …

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

If you don’t want to-do categories displayed in the email subject, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

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 your site has various project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

This field lets you customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications to users. You can enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type into this field a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users whenever new items have been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Enter 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 area allows you to carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself …

This function is useful if, for example, you see that to-do items you have already deleted are still listed on your site.

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

Any database operations carried out from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then we recommend backing up your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to back up your site manually, then consider using professional WordPress help services, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

• Back Up, Copy & Protect Your WP Websites And Blogs With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

This section lets you configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types …

If you choose Individual List, the only setting that is applicable for this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to be able to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities of each user role are set up 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 allow non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s now review the settings in this tab:

View To-Do List

This option enables 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 allow the chosen capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting permits the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the selected capability to assign items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This permits 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 allow the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option allows the selected capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may decide to copy over data from one site to another, or store the data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Use this section to import or export your to-do list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

You can export and download your to-do list data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This opens up a window allowing you to view or download the data in plain text format to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your admin 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 – posts, pages, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click the ‘Download Export File’ button to download 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 in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

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

After configuring all plugin settings, you are ready to begin create and edit to do lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to do list, go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

This brings you to the ‘To-Do List’ screen …

Add New To Do Items

There are several ways to add new to-do items to your list.

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 in your Dashboard by clicking on the ‘Add To-Do item’ link …

You can 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 at the bottom of the page) …

The above methods will take you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ area.

Depending on how you have configured your plugin’s settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add new to-do items.

Select 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have selected a list type that lets you assign responsibilities over items 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 delete a user) …

After the item has been added, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding items to your list …

Editing And Deleting Items

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

Once you have created your to do list, users can view the list from their dashboard …

When users assigned with the item complete the task and tick the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

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

Widgets

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

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

Your to-do list will display where the widget has been inserted (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

To learn more about how to use widgets in WordPress, see the tutorial below:

• How To Use s

Shortcodes

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you display lists on your site using short codes.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your admin menu …

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

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

This documentation section explains different ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists and checklists on your pages and posts.

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

Publish your page or post and you will see the list showing exactly where you have added the shortcode …

Visit the plugin website for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can add to-do lists in WordPress.

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