Creating To Do Lists In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially when you are running a growing business or managing any kind of project that requires people to collaborate.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have clients to meet, urgent tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, appointments 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 updated with regular content and everything can quickly start becoming unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks to members of your team or staff efficiently.

A simple proven method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to take control is to use “to-do” lists.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list can help to keep you on track and monitor your progress when working towards certain goals. Your to do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or act as a reminder of the things that need to be done over a given period of time.

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

To-Do Lists Help Create Order

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

Better Strategic Planning

By creating and organizing a to-do list, you can break down your workload into more doable tasks and come up with a strategy to get things completed on time and on budget.

Keep Work Logs

A to do list allows 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 monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Less Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so very little time to do it all in. Using a to-do list lets you prioritize urgent things that have to get done within the time you have available, and push out items that can be worked on later. This can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Better Delegation Of Work

To-do lists help you better delegate tasks to others. This is also important when collaborating with others (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 systematic way improves your business efficiency and productivity.

Let’s turn now to using a to-do list on your website or blog. More specifically, how to add a to-do list to WordPress.

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to-do lists to your WordPress site to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to do list WordPress 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/

Plugin Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Features

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

You can configure the plugin to have 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 option 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 seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to help you manage your lists and the to-do lists can also be displayed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to do list items on your site. There are 2 short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessible through the back-end.

If you plan to run a multi-author blog you can use the plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post planners if you also install a copy of the Post Planner plugin.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

Log into your site’s administration area scroll down the main menu click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s ‘Settings’ section can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s set up the plugin …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s now configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

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

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

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

List View

List View lets you choose how to-do lists are viewed. There are 3 list views:

• Individual – Choosing this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Choose this option to create one master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled, you can display which of your users has added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you can specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

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

Use WYSIWYG Editor

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

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display content in your to-do lists using paragraphs.

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, from the same developer that helps to make the task of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

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

After configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

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

This section lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and carry out plugin 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

In this section you can customize your To-Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

Here you can specify how to display dates on 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

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

Items prioritized as “important” are colour-coded in red in the lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will show item IDs on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option displays the date your To-Do Items table was added …

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 …

You can configure the following options in this section:

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

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

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Contributor to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do 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

When this option is enabled, WordPress automatically sends users an email with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to send out emails to users.

Note: If you disable this option, skip the other items 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

If you don’t want to-do categories added to the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, your site has various 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. You can enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you would like to display as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

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

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, type 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 allows you to carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself …

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

The tasks below can be performed:

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

Any database operations carried out 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 WP database first.

If you don’t want to perform your own site backups, then use the services of a professional WordPress provider, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

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

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen Individual List, the only configurable item applicable 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 …

The default general capabilities for 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 make sure that you only permit non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s review the settings for the User Permissions 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 enable the chosen 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 setting enables the selected capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option permits 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 allow the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option permits the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may need to transfer data from one site to another, or store the data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can easily import or export your 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 opens up a new window allowing you to download and save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to an internal or external drive …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, 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 – pages, posts, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click on the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your hard drive…

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 …

Locate the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

Once 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.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can begin create and edit to do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

How To Add New To Do Items

There are a number of 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 in the 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 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 when you add new to-do items.

Set up 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 have chosen a list type that allows you to assign items to specific 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 a user) …

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

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

Edit And Delete To Do Items

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 (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 from their own WP user dashboard …

When the user assigned with an item completes the task and ticks 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 Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your site using widgets, and add lists to content inside a post or page using short codes.

Widgets

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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you would like the list to display …

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

Your list will appear where the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been inserted (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Short Codes

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you display lists on your site by inserting short codes into your content.

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

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

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

This documentation section explains various ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists and checklists on your pages and posts.

Once you know what type of 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 editor …

Publish your page or post and you will see the list showing where you entered the shortcode …

Visit the plugin website here for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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