Creating A To-Do List In WordPress

When you run a growing business or manage a team, there never seems to be enough time to get things done.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to end.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website updated with regular content and things can quickly start feeling unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, track your progress, and, if necessary, assign responsibilities to other people efficiently.

A proven method that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to regain control is to use “to do” lists.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list can help you monitor your progress as you work to get tasks completed. Your to do list can be very detailed and specific, or act 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:

Create Order

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

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time better. You can gain a better perspective on what is more important vs what isn’t, and what tasks have to be done first.

Document Your Work

To-do lists allow you to retain documented logs of what has been done. This can be used to provide evidence of work done to employers or clients, or simply as a method of helping you track your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability allows excuses to creep in and take over your work day.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Crossing items off a to do list gives you a feeling of accomplishment and allows you to relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is being completed and that things are moving forward.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using to-do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work things systematically and your business efficiency and productivity will surely increase.

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

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to create to-do lists in 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

Download The Plugin

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

Description

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can configure Cleverness To Do List to have private to-do lists for each user, to have all users share a to do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to do list offers a number of different settings. You can delegate to-do items to a specific user (this includes emailing new to-do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included as front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to do list items on your blog. There are 2 short codes for front-end administration of the list. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end admin section.

If you plan to set up 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 the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

Log into your WP admin section and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

Setting Up The Plugin

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

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

Let’s now configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item will be 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 to-do lists.

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

List View

List View lets you specify how lists are viewed. There are three to-do list views available:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets users 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 – This option allows you 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 that you configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If enabled, you can display which of your members has 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 to-do items.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for 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 will display in your WordPress Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this 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 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 managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Go here for more information about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Multi-Author Publishing 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’ area …

This area lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and carry out database maintenance tasks.

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 area you can customize your To Do List …

The following options 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 formatting dates in WordPress, visit the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest, middle and low items …

high priority items display in red and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, the item’s ID will display on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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 to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can 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 to display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area Contributor displays the type of users that can be assigned todo 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 you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send users an email with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to send out emails to users.

Note: If this option is disabled, you can 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 to-do categories added to the subject of your emails.

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

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 is a useful option if 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 to users. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you want showing as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users whenever a new item has been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Add 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

In this section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area …

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

The following tasks can be performed in this section:

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

Any actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are comfortable to perform database operations in this section, then remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to perform site backups, then get professional WordPress assistance, or use a WordPress backup plugin. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Clone And Protect Your WP Websites With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you are using Individual List, the only configurable item applicable for 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 want users to have access to for each option …

By 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 working with the Master list type make sure that you only allow non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

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

View To-Do List

This option 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 to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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 permits the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit 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

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may decide to copy over data from one website to another, or export your data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Use this section to export or import your to-do list data 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 save the data as plain text to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard 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 the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your 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 …

Select the previously saved to-do list data file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

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

How To Use The Plugin

To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress dashboard, then scroll down the menu and click on To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

How To Add A New Item To Your To Do List

There are several ways to add new to-do items.

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

You can also add new items to your to-do list in your 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 is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

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

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

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign tasks to specific 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 remove a user) …

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

Repeat this process to continue adding items to your list …

Editing And Deleting 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 how you have configured the plugin (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

After creating your to do list, users can view it inside their WP dashboard …

When a user assigned with an item completes the task and ticks the item checkbox …

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

And gets listed the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin screen …

Additional Plugin Information

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

Plugin Widget

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 menu where you would like your to-do list to display …

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

Your list will now display where the widget was placed (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

You can also create to-do lists and checklists to your site by placing short codes into your content.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from the dashboard 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 different ways to configure and use short codes 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 post or page and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content area …

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

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

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists to your WordPress site or blog.

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