Creating A To Do List In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you run a fast-paced business or manage any kind of project that involves people working together.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with new content and everything 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 prioritize your daily tasks, track your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to others effectively.

One proven tool that can help you save time, reduce stress, and allow you to take control is to use “to-do” lists.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you monitor your progress as you work towards a certain objective. Your to do list can be very detailed and very specific, or serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Create Order

A to-do list helps you create order, keep things organized and reach goals sooner.

Strategize

After creating and organizing a to do list, you can break larger projects into more doable tasks and come up with a strategy to get everything completed on time and on budget.

Reorganize And Reschedule Quickly

To-do lists help you better handle events. If an appointment gets cancelled at short notice or extra time is made available because something was completed sooner than expected, you can keep working with little to minimal disruption.

Accountability

Without accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability allows excuses to creep in and influence your productivity.

Better Delegation Of Tasks

Having a to-do list helps you better delegate tasks to other people. This is also important if you plan to work on a team-based project (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, prioritizing tasks and working in a focused manner improves productivity and efficiency in your business.

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

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to add to-do lists to WordPress to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a great little plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Download URL

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

Description

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

Features

Note: the plugin features described below will be 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 your to-do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to-do list option offers a number of different settings. You can assign to do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email new to do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have assigned items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to display 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 manage your list and your to-do lists can also be displayed 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 short codes for front-end administration of the list. 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 to do lists plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post editors if you also install a copy of the Post Planner plugin for WordPress from the same developer.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

From your WordPress admin, select 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 Cleverness To-Do List plugin in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

Plugin Setup

The Settings area is divided into 4 sections:

• To-Do List Settings – This area is where you can specify the plugin’s main settings.
• Advanced Settings – The options in this area let you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – This section lets you configure user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group List types.
• Import/Export – This section is where you can export and import your to-do list data and plugin 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: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item is added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This lets you add categories to 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 are not visible when using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how lists will be viewed. You can choose from three types of list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to be able to share one to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to have 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 set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you 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

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

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays 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 this option is enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author 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 process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

For more details about this WordPress plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Editorial Solution Plugin For WordPress

When you have finished configuring your plugin options in this section, 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 area lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to users and perform 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 …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

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

Note: To learn more about how to format dates in WordPress, refer to the date 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), normal and lowest (low) items …

Highest (important) priority items are shown in red in the lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, the items’ IDs appear on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date the to-do list was added shows up on your To-Do Items table …

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 options in this area and assign items to other users …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option to assign tasks 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

If this option is enabled, you can display to-do items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, 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 (‘No’).

Note: If you disable this option, 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 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.

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

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 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 notifications 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 showing as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, type 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

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 carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area itself …

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

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to carry out database operations in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to perform site backups, then consider getting help from a WordPress professional, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress file and database backups here:

• Backup, Clone And Keep Your WordPress Websites Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

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

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities of each user role are set 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 allow non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s go through the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit the selected 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 allow the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting permits the chosen capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This enables the selected capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can permit 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 allows the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can permit 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 want to transfer data from an existing to-do list to another website, or store your list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

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

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This will open up a window allowing you to download and save your data as plain text to a storage device …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress admin menu and selecting 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 the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your storage device…

Importing To-Do List Data

Importing a list data file is easy. Just click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

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

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

Your file will be imported.

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

How To Use The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

How To Add New To Do Items To Your List

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

For example, you can add new to-do items from your admin bar …

You can also add new items to your to-do list 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 already contains many items, since the link will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

All the methods shown above 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.

Select 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 lets you 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 a user) …

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

Repeat the above process to keep adding new items to your list …

Editing And Deleting Items

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 configured your settings (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

Once you have created your to do list, users can view it from their own WP user dashboard …

When users responsible for an item complete the task and tick the item check box …

… the item is deleted 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 Plugin Information

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

Widgets

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 list to display …

Configure the settings on the widget and click ’Save’ …

Your list will display wherever you have placed the 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 add 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 the admin menu …

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

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

The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists on your pages and posts.

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 inside the content editor …

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

For more details 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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