Creating A To-Do List In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially when you run a hectic business or manage other people.

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 “doing” never stops.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with regular content and things can quickly start to become unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to members of your team effectively.

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

The Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to do” list can help to keep you on track and measure your progress when working towards your objectives. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and specific, or serve as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free The Brain

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

Better Manage Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can gain a better perspective on what is more important vs what’s not, and what tasks have to be completed first.

Keep Documented Work Logs

To-do lists allow you to keep documented logs of the work you have done. This can be used to provide evidence of work to clients or employers, or simply as a way of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and impact your productivity.

Better Delegation Of Tasks

A to-do list helps you delegate work to other people better. This is also important if you plan to collaborate 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. Creating to do lists, then prioritizing tasks and working in a systematic way increases your business efficiency and productivity.

What about using a to-do list on your WordPress website?

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to add to-do lists to WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to do list plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin 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.

Features

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

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

The shared to do list option offers a number of different settings. 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 be 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 in the front-end administration.

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

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

If you plan to run a multi-author site you can use this to-do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also use a copy of the Post Planner plugin for WordPress.

Plugin Installation

From your WordPress admin, scroll down the main menu and select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

Plugin Configuration

The Settings area is divided into four tabs:

• To-Do List Settings – Here you can specify the plugin’s main settings.
• Advanced Settings – This section lets you customize your to-do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform 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 – This tab lets you export and import your to-do plugin and list data settings.

Let’s review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Select ‘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 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.

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

List View

List View allows you to choose how your to-do lists will be viewed. There are three kinds of to-do list views you can select:

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

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how 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 lets you display which users on your site have added an item to the to-do list.

Note: This setting only works 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 this option is enabled, you can specify deadlines for your to-do tasks …

Show Progress

If enabled, you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

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

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option to display content in to-do lists using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

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

To learn more this WordPress plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Editorial Solution Plugin For WordPress

When you have finished configuring your plugin options in this section, 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 to continue …

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

In this tab you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to 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

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

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you 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, see the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest (important), middle and lowest (low) items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs show up on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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 options in this section and assign to-do items to other users …

The following options 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 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. Leave this option disabled to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section 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 leave its check box unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress will automatically send users an email with their assigned to-do items …

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

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

If you don’t want to-do categories to appear the email subject, then leave this option disabled.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option lets you display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, you have multiple project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

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

From Email

Add the email address that you would like to display 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 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

In this area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can perform database maintenance tasks related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself …

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

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to carry out database maintenance in this section, then we recommend backing up your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to do site backups, then consider getting professional help, or use WordPress backup plugins. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate & Protect Your WP Websites With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen the Individual List type, the only permission that is applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

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

The 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 working with the Master list type non-admin users should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings for the User Permissions section:

View To-Do List

This allows 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

This option permits the selected capability to mark 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 enable the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting permits 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

This enables the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to purge all the completed 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 useful. For example, you may need to copy over data from one site to another, or store your 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 easily export or import your list 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 new window allowing you to view or save the data in plain text format to an internal or external hard drive …

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

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress 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 on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to an internal or external hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

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

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

Once your data file has been uploaded to your settings area, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

Your file will be imported.

After configuring all of the plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing to do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

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

Adding New To Do Items

There are several 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 contains many items, since the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when when you add new to-do items.

Select the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter 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 have chosen a list type that lets you 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 you have added a new item item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

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

Editing And Removing 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 your configuration settings (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When users assigned with completing an item tick the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list 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 your to-do list to display …

Configure the widget settings and click ’Save’ …

The to-do list will display wherever you have placed the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Plugin Shortcodes

You can also display to-do lists and checklists to your site using shortcodes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Visit the plugin website here for more details about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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