Creating A To Do List In WordPress

When you run a hectic business, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much to do and remember. You have clients to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website updated with regular content and everything can quickly start to become unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, keep track of your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, assign responsibilities to others effectively.

A 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 “to-do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to do” list helps you measure your progress when trying to get tasks completed. Your to-do list can be quite detailed or specific, or just serve as a reminder of tasks that need to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free Your Brain

Creating to do lists means you won’t have to try to memorize stuff or clutter your brain with details. Once tasks are jotted down on a to do list, your mind is free to process information and you can focus on other important things.

Better Manage Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time more effectively. You can develop a clearer perspective on what is truly important vs what isn’t, and what steps should be done first.

Keep Work Logs

A to-do list allows you to retain documented logs of what work has been done. You can use this to provide evidence of work to employers or clients, or simply as a means of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability allows excuses to creep in and impact your productivity.

Better Delegation Of Tasks

To-do lists help you delegate tasks 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. Creating a to do list, then prioritizing tasks and working in a focused way increases your business productivity and efficiency.

What about adding a to do list to your website?

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to create to-do lists in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Plugin Download URL

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

Description

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

Features

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

You can configure the plugin to assign private to do lists for individual users, to have all users share the same to do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to do list has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email a new to-do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items only viewable 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 in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your list and the to do lists can also appear on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are 2 short codes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessed through the back-end admin section.

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

Plugin Installation

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

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

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List entry in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …

Click “Activate Plugin” …

Note: You can also activate the plugin in the Plugins area …

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The settings screen can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ section …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Configuration

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

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

Let’s review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

Note: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item is added to the To-Do List plugin 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 widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how to-do lists will be viewed. You can choose 3 list views:

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create one 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 order list items.

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 applies if ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can 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 Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

This option 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 your to-do list items.

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 author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Visit this site to learn more this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

When you have configured your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

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

This tab lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to 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

Here you can customize your To Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

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

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this section you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest, normal and lowest items …

Items prioritized as “important” display in red 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 the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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

If you have selected ‘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 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 to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled will display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Author displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled, 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 (‘No’).

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

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If this option is enabled, you can display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if your site has several 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 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 displayed as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users when a new item has been assigned 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

In this area you can perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area without having to log into your web server …

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

The following tasks can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to perform database operations in this section, then remember to backup your WP database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files manually, then get professional support, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress file and data backups here:

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

User Permissions

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

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

If you are setting 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 …

By default, general capabilities for 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 non-administrators should only be permitted 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

Here you can enable 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

This enables the chosen 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

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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 items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to purge all the completed 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 very useful. For example, you may need to copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or store your list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Here you can import or export your 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 list 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 a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, 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 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 …

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.

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you are ready to start creating and editing your to-do lists.

How To Use The Plugin

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

This brings up the ‘To-Do List’ screen …

Adding A New Item To Your To Do List

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

For example, you can add new items to your to-do 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 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 send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

Depending on how you have set up your plugin, 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, add appropriate 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 tasks 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 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 new 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 each item under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your plugin configuration plugin settings (discussed earlier), 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 inside their own dashboard …

When users responsible for completing an item tick the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress site using widgets, and display a list on any page or post using shortcodes.

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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you would like your to-do list to show …

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

The list will display wherever you have placed 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:

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Shortcodes

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

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

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

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

The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists on your content.

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the short code inside the content section …

After publishing your page or post, you should see the list displayed where you have inserted the shortcode …

For more information about this plugin, go here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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