Creating A To Do List In WordPress

There are never enough hours in the day to get things done, especially when you run a fast-paced business or manage other people.

There are so many things to do and remember. You have clients to meet, urgent 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 end.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with fresh content and everything can quickly start feeling 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, track your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks to team members efficiently.

A simple proven method that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to-do” lists.

Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to do” list helps you track your progress as you work towards completing tasks. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Clearer Thinking

Writing a to do list means that you won’t have to try to memorize things or clutter your head with details. Once things are written down on a to-do list, your brain is free to process other information and you can focus on more important things.

Manage Your Time Better

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

Log Your Work

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

Ensures Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability lets excuses creep in and take over your productivity.

Collaboration

Creating to do lists and other project management tools is essential for getting other people involved on some of your larger or more complex projects.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to-do list, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work towards completing the tasks you have listed and efficiency and productivity in your business will surely increase.

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

In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily create to do lists in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Features

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

You can configure the plugin to assign 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 different settings. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to the user) and optionally to have those items only 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 included as well as front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to do list items on your site. There are 2 short codes for front-end administration of the list. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end admin section.

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 planners if you also install a copy of the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Inside your site’s admin, choose Plugins > Add New …

In the Install Plugins screen, 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 tab and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

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

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 your dashboard menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

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

Configuring The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings area is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Choose ‘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 then use to organize your to-do lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

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

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

List View

List View lets you choose how your lists are viewed. There are three kinds of list views:

• Individual – Choosing this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Choose this option to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered 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 (‘Yes’) lets you display which of your members has added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you can 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 this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display content in to-do lists using paragraphs.

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, developed by the same author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

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

After you have finished configuring your plugin options in this section, 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 you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

This section lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and carry out 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

In this section you can customize your To-Do List …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

In this section you can specify how to display dates in your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about how to format dates in WordPress, visit the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this section you can customize your labels for important, normal and lowest (low) priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the items’ IDs on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled, the date the to-do list was added appears on your To-Do Items table …

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 area and assign items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option to 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do 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

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

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

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip 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.

If you don’t want to-do categories displayed in the subject of your emails, 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 is a useful option if your site has a number of 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. Type your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you would like displayed 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 automatically sent to users when new items have been added 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

In this section you can perform database maintenance tasks related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself without having to log into your web server …

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

You can perform the following tasks:

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

Actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data yourself, then hire a professional service, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform complete site backups here:

• Backup, Clone And Protect Your WordPress Web Sites With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

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

If you are setting up 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 of 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.

Below is a description of the settings for the User Permissions section:

View To-Do List

This setting allows the chosen 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 enables the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can enable 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 permits the chosen 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

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 want to copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or export your 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 or import your to-do list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

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

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your dashboard menu and choosing Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in an export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – pages, posts, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click on the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your storage device…

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

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

Your file data will be imported.

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

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

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

How To Add New To Do Items To Your List

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

For example, you can add new items to your to-do list from your admin bar …

You can also add a new item to your to-do list in your 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, as the link will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

Depending on how you have configured your plugin’s settings, some options may not display when adding new to-do items.

Select 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 to-do item …

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign 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 delete users) …

Once you have added the item, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ 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 set up the plugin (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to-do list, users can view it inside their user dashboard …

When users assigned with an item complete the task and tick the item check box …

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

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

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 a list on content inside a page or post using short codes.

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 would like your list to show …

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

Your to-do list will appear on your site where the ‘to-do-list’ widget was placed (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use WordPress Widget

Using Plugin Shortcodes

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

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from the WordPress admin menu …

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

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

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

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing 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 where you added the shortcode …

Visit this site to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists to your WordPress site.

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