Creating To-Do Lists In WordPress

Time is always in short supply, 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 deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, deliveries 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 new content and things can start to become unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks to other people efficiently.

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

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help you measure your progress as you complete projects. Your to do list can be detailed and specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Free The Brain

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

Be More Strategic

After creating and organizing a to-do list, you can break down your workload into more doable tasks and formulate a strategy for getting things completed effectively.

Quickly Reorganize Or Reschedule

Using to-do lists help you better cope with events. If an appointment suddenly gets cancelled or extra time becomes available because some task was completed sooner than expected, you can keep working with minimal disruption.

Stress Relief

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the fact that there is so much to do and so little time to do it in. Creating a to do list allows you to work on important tasks that need to get done within a reasonable timeframe, and reschedule non-urgent tasks that can be worked on later. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to relieve some of the stress you may be feeling.

Collaborate Better With Others

Using 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 to do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Creating a to-do list, prioritizing tasks and working in a focused way improves productivity and efficiency in your business.

What about adding a to do list to your WordPress website or blog?

In this tutorial we are going to show you how to create a to do list in WordPress to help your business grow  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to do list WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin Download URL

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

Plugin Description

This WordPress plugin lets you easily add a to do list to your WordPress website or blog.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin 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 a to-do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

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

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to help you manage your lists and your to do lists are also listed on a 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 your list. Management of categories is accessed through the back-end admin section.

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

How To Install The Plugin

In your WP admin area, go to the main menu and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List item in the Search Results area 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 ‘Settings’ area can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

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

How To Set Up The Plugin

The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ screen is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s now take you through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do lists 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 menu …

This allows you to 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.

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

List View

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

• Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets all users share one 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 you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

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

Note: This setting only works when ‘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 can specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu 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 multi-author 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 …

Go here for more information about using this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

Once you have finished configuring your plugin options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

In this screen you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to users and carry out 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’ screen lets you 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 in your todo 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

This section lets you customize your labels for prioritizing highest (important), normal and lowest items …

Highest priority items are shown in red in your lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will show item IDs 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 chosen either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the settings 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 setting must be set to ‘Yes’ for the settings below it to work.

Show a User Only the To-Do Items Assigned to Them

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled will display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section Author to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then leave its checkbox unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

If you don’t want to send out emails to users, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip other settings 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 to-do categories to show the email subject.

If you don’t want to show to-do categories in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option 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 allows you to customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you would like showing as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add into this field a subject field for the email that will be sent out automatically to users when new items have been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, type 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 area allows you to perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from the plugin settings area without having to log into your server …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that old items are still appearing 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 – Erase all of your to-do items.

Any actions that you perform on the 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 we recommend backing up your database first.

If you don’t want to perform your own backups, then get professional support, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Backup, Duplicate And Keep Your WP Web Site Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

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

If you are configuring user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to be able to perform 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 using 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 for the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

This setting permits 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 allows the chosen capability to mark 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

This permits the selected capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to assign items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option allows 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

Here you can enable the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This allows the chosen 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

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may need to transfer data from an existing list to another website, or export the list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can export and 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 as plain text to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting to-do 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 – 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 a storage medium…

Importing To-Do List Data

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

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

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

Your file data will be imported.

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

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

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

How To Add New To Do Items

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

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

You can also add new items to your to-do list inside the 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 contains many items, as the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the screen) …

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

Depending on the way you have configured the plugin settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add new to-do items.

Configure 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have selected a list type that allows you to assign tasks 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) …

After the new item has been added, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding items to your list …

Edit And Remove 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 how you have set up the plugin (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

After creating your to do list, users can view it when logged into their user dashboard …

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

… the item is then deleted 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 plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress site using widgets, and display lists on any post or page using shortcodes.

Plugin Widget

To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ section (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the menu location where you would like the to-do list to appear …

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

The list will now display wherever you have placed the widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Plugin Shortcodes

You can also create to-do lists and checklists to your site with shortcodes.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, 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 …

This section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists on your content.

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

Publish your page or post and you will see the list showing in the location where you added the shortcode …

For more details about this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

***

***