Creating A To-Do List In WordPress

If you run a growing business, time is always in short supply.

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

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with new content and things can start to become unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, you need to be able to organize and manage your day.

One proven method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to-do” list.

Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to-do” list can help to keep you on track and measure your progress as you work towards completing tasks. Your to do list can be quite detailed or specific, or just serve as a reminder of tasks that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Free The Brain

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

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can gain a clearer perspective on what’s truly important vs what isn’t, and what steps have to be completed first.

Keep Work Logs

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

Reduce Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the fact that there is so much that needs to get done and so little time to do it all in. Using to do lists let you prioritize urgent things that need to get done within the time you have available, and reschedule non-urgent tasks that can be worked on later. This can help reduce stress.

Collaborating With Others

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 a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a systematic way and productivity and efficiency in your business is sure to increase.

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

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to add to-do lists to a WordPress website or blog to help your team get things done  faster and more efficiently using a great little plugin 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 WordPress plugin lets you easily add a customizable to do list to WordPress.

Plugin 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 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 provides different settings. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (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 to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your lists and your 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 blog. There are 2 short codes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is accessible through the back-end.

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

Plugin Installation

In your WP admin section, scroll down the main menu and select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ section …

Let’s configure the plugin …

How To Configure The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

• To-Do List Settings – This area lets you specify the main plugin settings.
• Advanced Settings – This area is where you customize To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – This area lets you 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 plugin and list data settings.

Let’s take you through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your list 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 lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

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

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

List View

List View allows you to specify how lists are viewed. There are 3 types of to do list views available:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows users to share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you 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 adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which members on your site have added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If enabled, you can specify deadlines for your to-do tasks …

Show Progress

Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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 to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run 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 to help make the process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

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

Once you are done configuring your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

Once you have configured the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

In this section you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to other 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’ tab allows you to customize your To Do List …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

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

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize the labels for important, middle (normal) and lowest (low) priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will display the item’s ID on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option shows the date your 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 items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If enabled, 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 lets you display items 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

Checking the boxes in this area Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned 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 you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

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

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the remaining 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, you have a number of 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. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

In this field, add the email address that you want displayed as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, add a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent out to users whenever a new item has been added to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Add 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 lets you perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself without having to access your server …

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

The following tasks can be performed in this section:

• Delete Tables – Delete custom database tables that are no longer being used.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Remove all 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 perform manual backups, then consider using professional support services, or use backup plugins. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform complete file and data backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate And Protect Your WP Site With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you have selected Individual List, the only configurable item that is applicable for this section is the View To-Do List permission …

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 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 make sure that you only allow non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

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

View To-Do List

This permits the chosen 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 enable the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting allows the selected 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 chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This allows the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may decide 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 section …

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

Exporting To-Do List Data

You can export and download your list 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 an internal or external storage medium …

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 choosing Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in an export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – pages, posts, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to an internal or external hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a previously saved to-do 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’ …

Once uploading the data file, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

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

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to begin create and edit to do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

To create a new to do list, go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

How To Add New To Do Items 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 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 contains many items, as the link is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

The methods shown above will take 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 adding new to-do items.

Set up 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 new to-do item …

Note: If you are using 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 assign multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to remove users) …

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

Repeat the above process to keep adding items to your to-do list …

Editing And Deleting Items From Your List

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons associated with each item under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have set up the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to do list, users can view the list inside their dashboard …

When users assigned with completing an item click on the item checkbox …

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

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a page or post using short codes.

Using The Cleverness Plugin Widget

To add to-do lists to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ page (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you would like your list to display …

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

The list will now display on your site where the widget has been inserted (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Short Codes

You can also display to-do lists on your site with shortcodes.

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

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

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

This documentation section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists and checklists on your posts and pages.

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

Publish your post or page and you should see the list displayed in the location where you entered the shortcode …

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

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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