Creating A To Do List In WordPress

If you plan to run a fast-paced business, there never seems to be enough time to get everything done.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never stops.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with regular content and everything can start feeling 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 activities, track your progress, and, if necessary, assign responsibilities to team members effectively.

One simple proven tool 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.

The Benefits Of Using To Do Lists

A “to-do” list can help to keep you on track and monitor your progress as you to get projects completed. Your to-do list can be quite detailed and very specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of the things that need to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Stay Organized

Having to-do lists help you create order, keep things organized and reach your goals faster.

Strategize

After creating and organizing your to-do list, you can view the larger picture and formulate a strategic plan for getting everything completed efficiently.

Reschedule Or Reorganize Quickly

A to-do list lets you better deal with changes in circumstances. If you suddenly find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time becomes available when some aspect of the process gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reschedule or reorganize and continue moving forward with little to minimal loss of focus.

Less Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many things that needs to get done and so very little time to do it all in. Creating to-do lists allow you to work on urgent tasks that have to get done immediately, and reschedule items that can be addressed at a later time. This can help you stress less.

Better Delegation Of Work

A to do list helps you better delegate tasks to others. This is also important if you plan to collaborate 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. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work towards completing the tasks you have listed and productivity and efficiency in your business is sure to increase.

What about adding a to do list to your website or blog?

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to create a to-do list in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to do list plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This WordPress plugin lets you easily add a to-do list to a WordPress site.

Features

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

You can set up the plugin to have 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 has a variety of settings available. You can assign 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 assigned items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available to enable the display of 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 list and your to-do lists can also be displayed on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to do list items on your site. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is restricted to the back-end admin section.

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

How To Install The Plugin

Log into your site’s administration section and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The ‘Settings’ section can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ page …

The section below shows you how to go through the plugin setup process …

Setting Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ screen is divided into 4 tabs:

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

Let’s go through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do list into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item gets added to the To-Do List menu …

This allows you to 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 to-do lists.

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

List View

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

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option lets all users share the same to-do list.
• Master – Choose 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 configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you display which users have added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled, you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WP Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

This menu 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 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, developed by the same plugin author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

For more information about this handy plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner

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

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

This screen lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and carry out plugin 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 area you can customize your To Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates on your to-do lists (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 labels for important, middle and lowest (low) priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option displays item IDs on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date the to-do list was added displays on the 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 settings in this section and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following settings 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 to display items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled will display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area (Administrator displays the type of users that can be assigned items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you don’t want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress automatically sends 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 you disable this option, 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 on the subject of your emails …

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

If you don’t want categories added to the email subject, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

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, you have several 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 emails to users. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add into this field 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 sent out automatically to users whenever a new item has been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type into this field 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 perform database maintenance tasks related to plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself …

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

You can perform the following tasks:

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

Actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want to carry out database operations in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your site manually, then get support services from a WordPress professional, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Clone And Protect Your WP Websites 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 the Individual List type, the only permission that applies in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to have access to 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 non-administrators should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

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

View To-Do List

This setting allows 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 enable the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable 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

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This enables 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 chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

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

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may need to transfer data from one website to another, or export your 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 export or import your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a window allowing you to view or download the data as plain text to an internal or external drive …

In addition to exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard menu and selecting Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in an export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, 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 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’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

After configuring all of the plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

Add A New Item To Your To Do List

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

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

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

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

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

Set up the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the new to-do item …

Note: If you have chosen 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 make multiple users responsible for 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 Items’ table …

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

Editing And Deleting To-Do 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 (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to-do list, users can view the list from their dashboard …

When a user assigned with the item completes the task and clicks on the item check box …

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

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin area …

Additional Plugin Information

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

Widgets

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 menu location where you would like the list to display …

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

The to-do list will appear on your site where the widget has been placed (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Shortcodes

You can also display lists and checklists on your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.

To access the documentation on using short codes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the admin menu …

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use short codes to display lists on your pages and posts.

Once you know what information you want to display on your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the shortcode into the content section …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed in the location where you have inserted the short code …

To learn more about this plugin, visit the plugin website:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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