Creating A To-Do List In WordPress

As a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team, time is always in short supply.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never ends.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and everything can quickly start becoming unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, monitor your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, delegate tasks and responsibilities to others effectively.

One simple proven method that can help you save time, alleviate stressful workloads, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to-do” list can help you track your progress when trying to complete projects. Your to-do list can be very detailed and very specific, or serve as a concise reminder of tasks that need to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Free Your Brain

Creating a to do list means that you don’t have to try and remember things or clutter your head with details. Once things are recorded on a to-do list, your head is free to process other information and you can focus on other important things.

Time Prioritization

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and manage your workload more effectively. You can gain a clearer perspective on what’s truly urgent vs what is not, and what tasks need to be completed first.

Log Your Work

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

Stress Relief

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and very little time to do it in. Creating to-do lists let you work on urgent things that have to be completed within the time you have available, and push out tasks that can be addressed at a later time. This can help you stress less.

Collaborating With Others

Creating to-do lists and other project management tools is essential for getting other people involved on some of your larger or more complex projects.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to-do lists, then prioritizing tasks and working to complete the items on your list improves your business productivity and efficiency.

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

In this 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 great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Plugin URL

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

Description

This WordPress plugin lets you easily add to do lists to your WordPress website or blog.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin 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 completion of items.

The shared to do list option includes different settings. You can delegate to-do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email new to-do items to users) and optionally to have those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings 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 backend to manage your lists and your to do list can also appear on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to-do list items on your site. There are two short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessible via the back-end.

If you plan to run a multi-author site you can use the to do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also download 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 administration section, go to the main menu and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s set up the plugin …

How To Configure The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Let’s now 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 menu …

This lets you 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 to-do lists.

Private categories will not be visible when using sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you specify how your to-do lists will be viewed. There are three kinds of to-do list views you can select:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets users share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create a 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 (see 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 sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

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

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you can 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’) displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress Dashboard 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

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

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run 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 provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Visit this site to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Editorial Solution Plugin For WordPress

When you have finished configuring your plugin options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

In this screen you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you 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 in your to-do 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 lowest items …

Items prioritized as “important” are color-coded in red in your lists and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option shows the item’s ID on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled, the date the to-do list was added will show on the To-Do 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 options in this section and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option 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

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

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then leave its check box unticked.

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 …

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 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 to show categories in the subject of your emails.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to-do categories added to the subject of your emails.

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, your website has several project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

This field allows you 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

Add the email address that you would like showing as the “sent from” 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 assigned in 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 section you can perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area without the need to access your server …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that old todo items are still listed on your site.

The following tasks can be performed in this section:

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

Actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to perform database maintenance in this section, then we recommend backing up your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to perform your own site backups, then consider getting professional support, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Copy And Keep Your WordPress Web Site Protected With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

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

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 perform for each option …

By default, general capabilities of 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 authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings in this tab:

View To-Do List

This setting enables 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 allow the selected capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can enable 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 allows the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can enable the selected 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 one site to another, or store your list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can export or import your list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a window allowing you to view or download the data in plain text format to an internal or external storage device …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your admin 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 just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your storage device…

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’ …

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

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

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

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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 up the ‘To-Do List’ screen …

How To Add New To-Do Items

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

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

You can also add a new item to your to-do list using 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 further down the page) …

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding 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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign tasks 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 a user) …

Once you have added the new item, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to add new items to your list …

Editing And Removing To-Do Items From Your List

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons next to items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have configured 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 the list inside their dashboard …

When users assigned with an item complete the task and click on the item check box …

… the item is then deleted from the “To-Do” list …

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and add lists to content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Plugin Widget

To add to-do lists 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 want your to-do list to appear …

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

The to-do list will display on your site where the widget was inserted (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Using Plugin Short Codes

You can also add to-do lists on your site using shortcodes.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, click on 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 to access the Shortcode Documentation section …

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

Once you know what type of information you would like to display on your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the shortcode into the content editor …

After publishing your post or page, you should see the list showing where you entered the short code …

Visit this site to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can add to-do lists to your WordPress site.

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