Creating A To Do List In WordPress

There never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything done, especially if you are running a growing business.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with new content and things can quickly start feeling unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, track your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, delegate tasks and responsibilities to members of your team or staff effectively.

One proven method that can help you save time, reduce stress, and allow you to take control is to use “to do” lists.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you keep track of your progress as you to get projects completed. Your to do list can be detailed and specific, or act as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free Up Resources

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

Strategize

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you view the larger picture and create a strategic plan for getting things done effectively.

Log Your Work

To-do lists allow you to retain documented logs of what has been done. This can be used to provide evidence of work to clients or employers, or simply as a means of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability lets excuses creep in and impact your productivity.

Collaboration

Creating to do lists and other project management tools is essential for collaborating with others 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 towards completing the items on your list increases efficiency and productivity in your business.

What about adding to do lists to your website?

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to add to do lists to a WordPress site to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little plugin for WordPress 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 a to-do list to a WordPress website or blog.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List to assign private to do lists for each user, 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 option has a variety of settings available. 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 be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available 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 list and your to do list can also display 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 short codes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessible through 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 for WordPress.

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

From your site’s admin, go to the main menu and click on Plugins > Add New …

In the Install Plugins section, 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 this plugin in the Plugins section …

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

Configuring The Plugin

The Settings area is divided into four 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 database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – Here you can set up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types.
• Import/Export – This tab is where you can import and export to-do list data and plugin settings.

Let’s go through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item will be added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This allows you to add categories to your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

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

Categories marked ‘private’ are not visible using the sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how lists are viewed. There are three types of to do list views you can select:

• 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 be able to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Use this option 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 that you set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which members have added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for your to-do tasks …

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, the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option to display content in to-do list items using paragraphs.

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

To learn more about this plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – Editorial Solution Plugin For WordPress

After you are done configuring your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

After you have configured the general settings, 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 items to other users and carry out 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 area you can customize your To Do List …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Date Format

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

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display the items’ IDs on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display the date your table of items 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 options in this section and assign to-do items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) 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 to display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) displays to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled, WordPress will automatically send 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, skip other 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 on the subject of your emails …

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

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If enabled, you can 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 emails to users. You can enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Type into this field the email address that you want to display 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 sent out automatically 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

This area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you perform database maintenance tasks related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area without having to access your web server …

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

The following tasks can be performed:

• Delete Tables – Delete any custom database tables that you are no longer using.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all to-do items.

Any actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then we recommend backing up your WP database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data manually, then get professional assistance, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to automate WordPress backups here:

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

User Permissions

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

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

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to have access to for each option …

The default general capabilities for 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 non-admin users should only be authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s now review the settings for this tab:

View To-Do List

This setting permits the selected capability to view items in the dashboard widget and on the To-Do List page under the ‘Tools’ section.

Complete To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This permits the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This enables 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 need to transfer data from an existing to-do list to another website, or export the data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Use this section to easily export or import your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

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

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your admin 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 – posts, pages, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking the ‘Download Export File’ button to save 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 and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

After configuring all plugin settings, you can begin 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 admin, then go to the menu and click on To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Adding A New Item To Your List

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

For example, you can add new to-do items to your list from your WP admin 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 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 at the bottom of the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, 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 new to-do item …

Note: If you have chosen a list type that allows you to assign 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 users) …

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

Repeat this process to continue adding items to your to-do list …

Edit And Remove To-Do Items From Your List

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 set up the plugin (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 when logged into their own user dashboard …

When users responsible for the item complete the task and click on the item checkbox …

… the item no longer appears in the “To-Do” list …

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin area …

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and display lists on content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List 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 list to show …

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

The list will appear wherever you have placed the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use s

Short Codes

You can also display lists and checklists on your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

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

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

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

The documentation section explains various 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 add to your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content area …

After publishing your page or post, you should see the list displayed where you have added the short code …

To learn more about this plugin, visit this site:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add to-do lists in WordPress.

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