Creating A To Do List In WordPress

There never seems to be enough hours in the day to get things done, especially if you are running a growing business or managing any kind of project that requires people to work together.

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

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website updated with new content and everything can quickly start to feel unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, delegate responsibilities to others effectively.

One ”tried and true” method that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to regain control is to use a “to-do” list.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help to keep you on track and monitor your progress as you work towards completing tasks. Your to do list can be very detailed and specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of tasks that need doing today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Clearer Thinking

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

Strategize

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you see the bigger picture and come up with a strategic plan for getting things done on time and on budget.

Reschedule And Reorganize Quickly

Having to do lists help you better cope with changes in circumstances. If you suddenly find that an appointment has been cancelled at short notice or extra time becomes available because a task was completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and keep working without loss of focus.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the fact that there is so much that needs to get done and very little time to do it in. Creating to-do lists allow you to work on urgent tasks that have to get done within the time you have available, and reschedule non-urgent items that can be worked on later. This can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and take away some of the stress you (and your team) may be feeling.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Ticking items off to do lists gives you a feeling of accomplishment and allows you to stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that work is indeed being completed and that things are moving forward.

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 improves your business efficiency and productivity.

What about adding to do lists to your WordPress website?

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add a to do list to a WordPress site to improve business efficiency and productivity 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 a to do list to a WordPress site.

Features

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

You can configure Cleverness To Do List to assign 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 has a variety of settings available. You can assign to do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to do item to the user) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to help you manage your list and your to do lists 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 blog. There are two shortcodes for front-end administration of the list. Management of categories is restricted to the back-end.

If you plan to set up a multi-author blog you can use this plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post editors if you also download a copy of the Post Planner plugin from the same developer.

How To Install The Plugin

Log into your WordPress admin area and in the menu click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s settings area can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the ‘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 4 tabs:

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

Let’s take you through 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: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item gets added to the To-Do List menu …

This lets you add categories to your to-do 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 sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you specify how your lists are viewed. There are three to-do list views you can choose:

• Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to be able to 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 – This option allows you to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you adjust 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 Category, Alphabetical or ID, Category, ID or Alphabetical options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which members have added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you can specify deadlines for to-do tasks …

Show Progress

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

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

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a collaborative website 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 …

Visit this site to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

When you are done configuring your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This area lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items 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

Here 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, see 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 prioritizing highest, normal and lowest items …

high priority items are shown in red and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

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

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display the date the To-Do Items table was added …

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 items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to 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

Enabling this option displays items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to send out emails to users.

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the remaining 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 to show to-do categories in the email subject.

If you don’t want to display categories 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 option is useful if, for example, your site has a number of 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 emails to users. Type your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you want displayed as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type into this field a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users when a new item has been added in 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

In this area you can perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area without the need to access your web server …

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

You can perform the tasks below:

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

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

If you don’t want to do manual backups, then get help from a WordPress professional, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:

• Back Up, Clone And Protect Your WP Sites With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

If you select the Individual List type, the only item applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

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 …

The default general capabilities of each user role are configured 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 have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s review the settings in this tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow 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 uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This allows 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 permit the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

Here you can allow the chosen 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 copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or export the data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Now you can export or import your list 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 download and save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to an internal or external drive …

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

You can include to-do list data in an export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘All content’ (includes everything – pages, posts, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your 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 previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

After your data file has been uploaded in your settings area, click 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 your to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

Adding A New Item To Your List

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

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

You can also add new to-do items using the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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 take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

All the above methods will bring 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.

Configure the options you have enabled for your to-do items, add 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 allows you to assign responsibilities over items to 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 After adding a new item, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

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

Editing And Deleting Items From Your List

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

Depending on your plugin configuration settings (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to-do list, users can view it inside their own dashboard …

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

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

And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the ’To-Do List’ page …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin offers added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness 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 the list to show …

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

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

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Plugin Short Codes

You can also add lists on your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your WP admin menu …

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists and checklists on your content.

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing page or post and either type or paste the short code into the content area …

After publishing your post or page, you should see the list showing where you entered the shortcode …

Visit this site to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can add a to-do list to your WordPress site or blog.

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