Creating A To Do List In WordPress

When you are running a hectic business, there is never enough time to get things done.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to stop.

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 fresh content and everything can quickly start to feel unmanageable and overwhelming.

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

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

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list helps you track your progress when trying to complete projects. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or serve as a reminder of the things that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Clearer Thinking

Creating a to do list means that you won’t have to try to memorize things or store a ton of information inside your mind. Once things are jotted down on a to-do list, your mind is free to process other information and you can focus on more important things.

Strategize

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you view the bigger picture and create a strategy to get tasks completed on time and on budget.

Quickly Reschedule And Reorganize

A to-do list helps you better deal with events. If a meeting suddenly gets cancelled or extra time is made available because some part of the process got completed sooner than expected, you can keep moving forward without loss of focus.

Relieve Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so little time to do it in. Using a to-do list lets you work on urgent tasks that need to be completed within a reasonable timeframe, and push out non-urgent items that can be worked on at a later time. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Better Delegation

Having to do lists help you delegate work to other people better. This is also important when collaborating within a team (see further below).

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.

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

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to add a to-do list to a WordPress site to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list plugin for WordPress called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Plugin Description

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

Features

Note: the features described 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 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 has a variety of settings available. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to do items to assigned users) and optionally to have assigned items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings to display 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 the to do list can also display on a dashboard widget.

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

If you plan to set up a multi-author site you can use the to-do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also use a copy of the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Plugin Installation

Log into your WP admin section and in the menu click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ page …

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

How To Configure The Plugin

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

• To-Do List Settings – This area lets you specify the plugin’s main settings.
• Advanced Settings – This section is where you can customize 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 Group and Master List types.
• Import/Export – This section is where you export and import to-do plugin and list data settings.

Let’s now configure each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize your 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 plugin menu …

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

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

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

List View

List View lets you choose how to-do lists will be viewed. You can select three kinds of to-do list views:

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets all users share one to-do list.
• Master – Select this option to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If you choose 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 to-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you display which of your users has 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, completion dates will display for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you will be able to specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled, you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WP Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If enabled, you can add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

If this option is enabled, automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running 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 plugin author that helps to make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Go here to learn more about using this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner

After 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 continue …

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This screen lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform database maintenance tasks.

Let’s step 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

This section lets you specify how to display dates in your todo list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize the labels for highest (important), middle (normal) and low priority items …

Items given the highest (important) priority 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 (‘Yes’) shows item IDs on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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 settings in this area and assign to-do items to other users …

The following settings can be configured in this area:

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 items only to users who have been specifically 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 Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then leave its checkbox unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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 (‘No’).

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip the 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 display to-do categories in the email subject.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to-do categories to appear the email subject.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays 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 notices. Enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Enter a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users whenever a new item has 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 area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself …

This function is useful if, for example, you see that items you have previously deleted are still appearing on your site.

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data manually, then get professional WordPress assistance, or use WordPress backup plugins. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:

• Backup, Duplicate & Keep Your WordPress Sites Protected With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

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

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 …

By default, general capabilities of 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 working with the Master list type make sure that you only permit non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s now review the settings for this tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit 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

Here you can allow the chosen capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting 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 setting enables the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do 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 very useful. For example, you may want to copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or store 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 import and export your list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

You can export and download your data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This will open up a new window allowing you to download and save the data in plain text format to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress 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 – 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 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 previously saved to-do list data file and click ‘Open’ …

Once uploading your data file, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can start creating and editing to-do lists.

How To Use The Plugin

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

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

Add New To-Do Items To Your List

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

For example, you can add new to-do items 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 also 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 is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

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

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

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 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 assign items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

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

Repeat the above process to add new items to your list …

Edit And Remove To Do 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 (discussed in the 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 the list from their own WordPress dashboard …

When the user assigned with the item completes the task and clicks on the item check box …

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

And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and insert lists into any post or page using short codes.

Widgets

To add to-do lists 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 display …

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

Your list will display where you have inserted the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

You can also create to-do lists and checklists to your site using short codes.

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

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

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

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 would like to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing page or post and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content section …

Publish your post or page and you will see the list displayed exactly where you entered the short code …

Visit the plugin website for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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