Creating A To Do List In WordPress

Time is always in short supply, especially when you are running a growing business or managing any kind of project that involves people collaborating.

There is just so much to do and remember. You have deadlines to meet, 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 dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and things can quickly start to feel unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, you need to be able to organize and manage your day.

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

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to do” list helps you measure your progress when working towards certain objectives. Your to-do list can be very detailed and specific, or just serve as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Stay Organized

A to-do list helps you create order, keep things organized and reach goals sooner.

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time more effectively. You can gain a clearer perspective on what’s more urgent vs what’s not, and what steps have to be done first.

Log Your Work

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

Stress Relief

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and very little time to do it in. Using to-do lists allow you to prioritize important items that have to get done within the time you have available, and push out tasks 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.

Better Delegation

To-do lists help you assign work to other people better. This is also important when collaborating 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 things systematically and your business productivity and efficiency is sure to increase.

What about using to-do lists on your WordPress website or blog?

In this detailed tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add a to do list to WordPress to help get things done online faster and more efficiently using a great little plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Download The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

Description

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

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 individual users, to have all users share a to do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to-do list option provides different settings. You can assign to do items to specific users (this includes emailing 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 based on user roles. There are also settings available to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included as front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are 2 short codes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is accessed through the back-end.

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

Plugin Installation

Log into your WordPress dashboard section, and choose 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 …

Click Activate Plugin …

Note: You can also activate the plugin from the Plugins section …

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …

Let’s configure the plugin …

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Setup

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

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

Let’s now review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

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 available:

Individual – Choosing this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
Group – Choosing this option allows all users to share one to-do list.
Master – This option allows you to create one 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 (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to order list items.

If you select Category, Alphabetical or ID, Category, ID or Alphabetical 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 works if ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you will be able to specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

If enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WP 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, automatic paragraphs are used to display content in your to-do list items.

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 helps to make the task of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Go here to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Editorial Solution Plugin

Once you are done configuring your options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

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

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

Let’s go 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 …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

Here 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, normal and low items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) shows the item’s ID on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option will show the date the To-Do Items table 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 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 enabled (‘Yes’), you can 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

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display tasks only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays 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 todo items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

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

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

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

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 lets you customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you want to display 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 automatically sent to users when new items have been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type in 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 of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area without having to log into your web server …

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

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

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

If you don’t want to perform site backups, then get help from a WordPress professional, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress backups here:

Back Up, Duplicate And Protect Your WP Websites And Blogs With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen Individual List, the only configurable option applicable for this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to have access to for each option …

By default, general capabilities for each user role are 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-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s review 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 allows the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the selected capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the selected capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option enables 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 allow the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This setting 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 decide to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or store the data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

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

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

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

As well as exporting list 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 a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘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 save your file to your hard drive…

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 …

Select the previously saved to-do list data file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

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

Plugin Usage

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 …

Add A New Item 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 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 take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

The methods shown above will take 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 adding new to-do items.

Set up the options you have enabled for your to-do items, add 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 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 assign multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to remove a user) …

After the item has been added, the item 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 …

Editing And Deleting To-Do Items

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When the user assigned with completing an item ticks the item check box …

… the item disappears from the “To-Do” list …

And gets listed the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ page …

Additional Plugin Information

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

Widgets

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 want your list to appear …

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

Your to-do list will now display where the ‘to-do-list’ widget was added (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

The plugin also lets you display to-do lists to your site using shortcodes.

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

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

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

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

Once you know what type of information you would like to display on your site, create or edit a new or existing page or post and either type or paste the short code inside the content area …

After publishing your post or page, you should see the list displayed where you have 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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