Creating To-Do Lists In WordPress

If you are a business owner or busy project manager, time always seems to be in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, deliveries to make, commitments 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 promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with new content and things can quickly start to feel unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, it’s important to be able to organize and manage your daily activities.

A simple “tried and true” tool that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to take control is to use “to-do” lists.

Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to-do” list helps you keep track of your progress when trying to complete tasks. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

To-Do Lists Create Order

A to do list helps you create order, stay organized and achieve your goals faster.

Time Prioritization

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time. You can gain a clearer perspective on what is more urgent vs what is not, and what steps should be completed first.

Reschedule Quickly

Using to do lists help you better handle events. If a meeting suddenly gets cancelled or extra time has been made available when something gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and reschedule and keep working with minimal loss of focus.

Eliminate Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many things that needs doing and so very little time to do it in. Creating a to do list allows you to work on urgent items that need to get done within a reasonable timeframe, and reschedule tasks that can be worked on later. This can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Better Delegation

Having a to-do list helps you better delegate work to other people. This is also important if you plan to work within a team (see further below).

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 focused manner and productivity and efficiency in your business will improve.

Let’s turn now to using to-do lists on your website or blog. More specifically, adding to do lists to WordPress.

In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add a to-do list to WordPress 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

Download URL

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

Description

This WordPress plugin lets you easily add to do lists to a WordPress site.

Plugin Features

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

You can set up the plugin with 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 specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to the user) and optionally to have assigned 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 show 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 lists and the to-do list can also display on a dashboard widget.

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

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

How To Install The Plugin

From your WordPress dashboard, click on Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the entry in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

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

When 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 ‘Settings’ section …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

Plugin Configuration

The Settings screen is divided into 4 tabs:

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

Let’s now review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

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

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

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

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

Private categories will not be visible using widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how lists will be viewed. You can select three types of to-do list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Use this option if you want all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Select this option to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. 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 ID, Alphabetical, or Category options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you display which of your users has added an item to the to-do list.

Note: This setting only works 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

If enabled, you will be able to 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 WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

This menu option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

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

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running 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 helps to make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

For more information about this handy plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

Once you are done configuring your plugin options in this section, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

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

This tab lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.

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 lets you 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 todo lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, see the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for prioritizing highest, middle (normal) and lowest (low) items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, item IDs appear on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date the to-do list was added will display on the table of items …

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

If you have chosen either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this section 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 to-do items 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 tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area Contributor displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

If you don’t want to send out emails to users, then leave this option disabled.

Note: If this option is disabled, skip the other items 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-do categories to appear the email subject.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If this option is enabled, you can display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, 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 email notifications. Enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you want 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 distributed to users when new items have been assigned to 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

This section allows you to perform database maintenance tasks related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that previously deleted todo items are still showing up on your site.

The tasks below can be performed:

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

Any actions that you perform on the database 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 database first.

If you don’t want to back up your site yourself, then hire the services of a professional WordPress provider, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Duplicate And Keep Your WP Sites Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

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

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

By default, general capabilities for 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 using the Master list type make sure that you only authorize non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s now review the settings in this tab:

View To-Do List

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to assign items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option 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 enable the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

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

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may need to transfer data from one site to another, or store the data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Now you can import or export your data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This will open up a new window allowing you to download and save the data in plain text format to a storage medium (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 a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your storage medium…

Importing To-Do List Data

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

Locate the previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you are ready to start creating and editing to do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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 …

Adding New To-Do Items To Your List

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

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

You can also add a new item to your to-do list inside the 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 contains many items, since the link is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding new to-do items.

Set up 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 item to your list …

Note: If you have chosen 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 assign items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to delete a user) …

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

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

Editing And Deleting To-Do 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 (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to-do list, users can view it when logged into their user dashboard …

When users responsible for an item complete the task and click on the item check box …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and display a list on any post or page using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness Plugin Widget

To add to-do lists to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ section (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the location in your sidebar menu where you want the to-do list to show …

Configure the settings in the widget and click ’Save’ to update your settings …

Your to-do list will now display on your site where the widget was inserted (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

You can also add to-do lists and checklists to your site by placing short codes into your content.

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

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

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

The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists on your content.

Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, open up a new post or page and either type or paste the short code inside the content section …

Publish your post or page and you will see the list displayed in the location where you have inserted the shortcode …

To learn more about this plugin, visit the plugin website:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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