Creating A To Do List In WordPress

There is never enough time to get everything done, especially if you are running a hectic business or managing any kind of project that requires people to work together as a team.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and everything can quickly start becoming unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, track your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, delegate tasks to members of your team or staff efficiently.

A proven tool that can help you save time, alleviate stressful workloads, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to do” list.

Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to-do” list helps you monitor your progress when trying to achieve a certain objective. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Free Up Resources

Writing to do lists means that you won’t have to memorize things or clutter your head with details. Once things are recorded on a to do list, your brain is free to process information and you can focus on more important things.

Time Prioritization

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and manage your workload more effectively. You can develop a better perspective on what is truly important vs what’s not, and what tasks should be done first.

Document Your Work

To-do lists allow you to maintain documented logs of what you have done. This can be used as evidence of work to clients or employers, or just as a means of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and impact your productivity.

Delegate Better

To-do lists help you assign work to others better. This is also important if you plan to collaborate 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, prioritizing tasks and working in a focused manner increases your business productivity and efficiency.

What about using a to-do list on your WordPress website?

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to easily create to do lists in WordPress to help your business grow online  faster and more efficiently using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin URL

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

Description

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

Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List with 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 emailing a new to-do item to users) and optionally to have those items only viewable 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 also included in the front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to do list items on your blog. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is accessible via the back-end.

If you plan to run 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 from the same developer.

Plugin Installation

Log into your WordPress administration area scroll down the menu select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

The section below shows you how to configure the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

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

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

Let’s now go through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize 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 menu …

This allows you to add categories to 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 set to ‘private’ will not be visible using widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

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

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option allows users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which users have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

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

Use WYSIWYG Editor

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

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option to display content in your to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author site 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 helps to make the task of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Visit this site for more information about using this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Editorial Solution Plugin

After configuring your 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 up the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

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

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

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for prioritizing highest, middle and low items …

Items given the highest priority are shown in red in the lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, item IDs will display on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

You can configure the following settings in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

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

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section (Administrator to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send 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 this option is disabled, skip other 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 categories to appear the email subject.

If you don’t want to-do categories displayed in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option to display 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

Use this field to 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

In this field, enter the email address that you want to display as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Enter a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users when a new item has been assigned in 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 section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself without the need to access your server …

This is useful if, for example, you notice that old items are still appearing 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 – Delete all of your to-do items.

Any actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data yourself, then consider using professional support services, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform complete site backups here:

• Backup, Clone & Keep Your WP Site Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

In this area you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

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

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to be able to perform for each option …

By default, general capabilities for each user role are configured 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 permit non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s review the settings for the User Permissions section:

View To-Do List

This setting allows 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

This permits the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to assign items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This 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 allow the chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may need to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or store your data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Use this section to export or import your list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

To export and download your data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This will open up a new window allowing you to view or save your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, 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 – 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

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 …

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

After your data file has been uploaded to your settings area, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

Your file will be imported.

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

Plugin Usage

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

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

Adding 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 to your list from your WP dashboard toolbar …

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

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin’s settings, some options may not display when new items to your to-do list.

Configure 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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign 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 delete users) …

Once you have added an item, 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 Removing To Do 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 your configuration settings (discussed in the 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 the list from their own WP user 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’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin page …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and display a list on 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 menu location where you would like the list to show …

Configure the settings in the widget and click the ‘Save’ button to update your settings …

The list will now display on your site where you have added the 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

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Short Codes

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

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from the WordPress 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 documentation section explains different ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists and checklists on your content.

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

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

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

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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