Creating To Do Lists In WordPress

As a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team, time always seems to be in short supply.

There is just too much to do and remember. You have clients to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with new content and everything can suddenly begin feeling unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, track your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks to other people effectively.

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

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you keep track of your progress as you work towards a certain goal. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and specific, or serve as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Create Order

Having to-do lists help you create order, stay organized and achieve your goals faster.

Strategize

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you see the larger picture and formulate a strategy for getting everything done efficiently.

Quickly Reschedule Or Reorganize

Having to-do lists help you better deal with unexpected situations. If an appointment suddenly gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time is made available because something was completed sooner than expected, you can keep working with minimal disruption.

Stress Relief

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and very little time to do it all in. Using a to-do list lets you work on urgent things that need to get done within the time you have available, and reschedule tasks that can be addressed later. This can help you stress less.

Improved Collaboration

Creating 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 a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating a to do list, then prioritizing tasks and working in a systematic way improves efficiency and productivity in your business.

What about using to-do lists on your website or blog?

In this tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add to-do lists to WordPress 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

Download The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

Plugin Description

This WordPress plugin lets you easily add customizable to-do lists to a WordPress website or blog.

Plugin Features

Note: the plugin 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 individual users, to have all users share your to do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to do list provides different settings. You can delegate to do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email new to do items to the user) and optionally to have those items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. 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 backend to help you manage your list and the to do lists are also displayed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to do list items on your site. There are two short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is restricted to the back-end admin section.

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

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WordPress dashboard section, and choose Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s settings area by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

How To Set Up The Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area is divided into 4 sections:

• To-Do List Settings – This section lets you 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 – Here you can set up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types.
• Import/Export – In this area you can import and export your to-do plugin and list data settings.

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

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘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 will be added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This lets you add categories that you can then use to 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 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 your to-do lists are viewed. You can select 3 to-do list views:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets users share the same to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to have 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 sort list items.

If you select Category, Alphabetical or ID, Category, ID or Alphabetical 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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays completion dates for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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 to-do lists.

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 plugin developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more about using this WordPress plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner

After you have finished configuring your plugin options in this section, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

After configuring the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

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

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 section you can customize your To-Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

In this section you can 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 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), middle (normal) and lowest items …

Items prioritized as “important” are shown in red and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs will display on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled (‘Yes’), the date the to-do list was added shows on your items table …

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

If you have selected either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the settings in this section and assign 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 tasks 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 tasks only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Editor to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the check box unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

If you don’t want emails sent out to users, then leave this option disabled.

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the remaining settings 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 categories displayed in the email subject.

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

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, your website has various 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 in this field …

From Email

Type in the email address that you want to display 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 automatically sent to users whenever a new item has been added to 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 section you can carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area …

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

You can perform the tasks below:

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

Actions that you perform on your 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 make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data yourself, then consider using professional help services, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your backups here:

• Back Up, Copy & Keep Your WordPress Websites 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 choose Individual List, the only configurable option that is applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to be able to perform for each option …

By default, general capabilities of each user role are 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-administrator users should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s now review the settings in the User Permissions tab:

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

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This permits the selected capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting 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

Here you can permit the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This setting permits 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 decide to transfer data from an existing list to another website, or store your data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Use this section to easily import and export your to-do 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 window allowing you to download and save the data in plain text format to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress 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 save your file to your hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a list data file, 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 to your settings area, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

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

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing your to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

Adding New To Do Items To Your List

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

For example, you can add a new item to your to-do list from your dashboard bar …

You can also add new to-do items inside your 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 down the page) …

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

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

Select 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 specific 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 remove users) …

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

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

Editing And Deleting 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 plugin settings (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

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

When the user assigned with completing an item ticks the item checkbox …

… the item disappears 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 plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress site using widgets, and insert lists into content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Using The Plugin Widget

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 want your list to appear …

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

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

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Plugin Short Codes

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

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

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists and checklists on your content.

Once you know what type of information you would like to display on your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the shortcode into the content section …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list showing in the location where you entered the short code …

To download this plugin, go here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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