Creating A To Do List In WordPress

There never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything done, especially if you run a growing business or manage a team.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, projects to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and everything can quickly start to feel unmanageable and chaotic.

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

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

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you track your progress as you work to get tasks completed. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or act as a concise reminder of the things that need to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Free Up Resources

Creating a to-do list means you don’t have to try to memorize things or clutter your head with details. Once tasks are jotted down on a to do list, your mind is free to process information and you can focus on other areas that are more important.

Be More Strategic

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you see the bigger picture and formulate a strategy for getting tasks completed on time and on budget.

Quickly Reorganize Or Reschedule

Having to do lists help you better cope with events. If an appointment gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time has been made available because some part of the process was completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with minimal disruption.

Stress Relief

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many things that needs doing and so little time to do it all in. Creating to do lists allow you to prioritize important tasks that have to be completed within a reasonable timeframe, and reschedule items that can be addressed later. This can help reduce stress.

Collaboration

Creating to-do lists and other project management tools is essential for working with other people 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. Creating to-do lists, prioritizing tasks and working to complete the items listed increases efficiency and productivity in your business.

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

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to create to do lists in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Description

This WordPress plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Features

Note: the plugin features listed 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 individual users, to have all users share the same to-do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to do list includes different settings. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to do item to assigned users) and optionally to have assigned items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your list and the to do list can also appear 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 admin section.

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

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Inside your WordPress admin area, select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s ‘Settings’ section by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Configuration

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area is divided into four sections:

• To-Do List Settings – This section lets you 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 – This tab is where you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group List types.
• Import/Export – This section is where you can export and import to-do plugin and list data settings.

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

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

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

List View

List View lets you specify how to-do lists are viewed. There are 3 kinds of list views available:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets each user 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 a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you choose 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 order your to-do list items.

If you select Alphabetical, ID or Category, ID, Category or Alphabetical options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

If enabled, 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

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

Enabling this option 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 WordPress Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

This 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 your to-do list items.

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 provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more about using this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

After configuring your plugin options, 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 …

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

In this tab you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and carry out database maintenance tasks.

Let’s go 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

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 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 the labels for highest (important), middle (normal) and lowest (low) priority items …

Items given the highest priority display in red in the lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, item IDs will display on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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

If you have chosen ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this area and assign to-do items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display to-do items 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 area (Administrator to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a role, then don’t tick its check box.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

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

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip other items in this section.

Add Category to Subject

If you have enabled categories in your plugin settings and select ‘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 categories displayed in the email subject.

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

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, you have several 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 notices. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Type into this field the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Enter a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users when new items have been assigned in 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 area you can perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area without the need to access your server …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that previously deleted to-do items are still listed 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 – Remove all to-do items.

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

If you don’t want to perform manual backups, then consider hiring a professional, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate & Protect Your WordPress Sites With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

In this section you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you choose Individual List, the only permission applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to set up 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 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 non-administrators should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Here is a description of the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

This option enables 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 permits the chosen capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the chosen capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option enables 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

This permits the chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can enable 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 want to copy over data from one site to another, or export the list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can easily export and import your to-do list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This will open up a new window allowing you to download and save your data in plain text format to an internal or external drive …

In addition to exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress 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 – pages, posts, 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

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’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can 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 admin menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

How To Add New To-Do Items

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

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

You can also add new to-do items to your list inside the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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, since the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

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

Configure 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 to-do item …

Note: If you are using 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 make multiple users responsible for the same item (click on ‘x’ to delete a user) …

Once After adding a new item, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding 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 your plugin configuration settings (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to do list, users can view it when logged into their own WP user dashboard …

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

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

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

Additional Information

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

Widgets

To add a to-do list 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 display …

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

The to-do list will now display where the widget was added (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

To learn more about using widgets in WordPress, see the tutorial below:

• Using s

Short Codes

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

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

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

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

The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes to display 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 post or page and either type or paste the short code inside the content section …

After publishing your post or page, you will see the list displayed in the location where you have inserted the short code …

Visit the plugin website here to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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