Creating A To Do List In WordPress

If you plan to run a growing business, there is never enough time to get everything done.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and things can quickly start to become unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, it’s important to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.

One simple “tried and true” tool that can help you save time, reduce stress, and allow you to regain control is to use a “to-do” list.

The Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to do” list can help to keep you on track and measure your progress as you work towards your goals. Your to do list can be detailed and very specific, or act as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free Your Brain

Writing to-do lists means you don’t have to try to memorize stuff or store extra information inside your mind. Once things are jotted down on a to-do list, your head is free to process information and you can focus on more important things.

Manage Your Time Better

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

Reorganize And Reschedule Quickly

Using to-do lists let you better deal with events. If you suddenly find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time becomes available because something got completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and keep moving forward with no loss of focus.

Ensures Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and take over your productivity.

Better Delegation Of Tasks

To-do lists help you delegate work to others better. This is also important if you plan to collaborate with others (see further below).

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

What about using to-do lists on your website?

In this tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add to-do lists to your WP website or blog to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to do list plugin for WordPress called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

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

Plugin Features

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

You can configure the plugin with private to do lists for each user, to have all users share a 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 assign to do items to a specific user (this includes emailing a new to do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have assigned items only viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well in the front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to-do list items on your site. There are 2 short codes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessed through the back-end.

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

Installing The Plugin

Log into your WP admin and choose Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

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 the admin menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ screen …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Configuring The Plugin

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

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

Let’s go through each of these tabs.

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 is 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 lists.

Categories marked ‘private’ 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 specify how your to-do lists will be viewed. There are three list views available:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets users share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you select 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 your to-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which of your users 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 your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

If enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP 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

If enabled, automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do list items.

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 author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Go here for more information about this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Multi-Author Publishing Plugin For WordPress

After configuring your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

This area lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and carry out plugin 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to customize your To-Do List …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Date Format

In this area 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 how to format dates in WordPress, visit the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize labels for highest (important), middle and lowest priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will show item IDs on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the date your items table was added …

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 area and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to assign to-do items 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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display 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

Checking the boxes in this area Editor displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a role, then don’t tick its check box.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want emails sent out to users.

Note: If you disable this option, skip other settings 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-do categories to appear the subject of your emails.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want categories to show the email subject.

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

From Email

Type into this field the email address that you would like displayed 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 automatically sent 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area without having to log into your server …

This is useful if, for example, you see that todo items you have already deleted are still listed 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 – Remove all of your to-do items.

Actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to carry out database maintenance in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files manually, then get professional WordPress support services, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress file and database backups here:

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

User Permissions

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

If you choose the Individual List type, the only setting that is 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 would like users to be able to perform for each option …

The 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 using 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 itself.

Here is a description of the settings in this tab:

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 permit the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option allows 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

Here you can permit the chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This setting enables 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 want to copy over data from one website to another, or export your list 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 new window allowing you to download and save your data as plain text to a storage device …

In addition to exporting 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 selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking on 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 …

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

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

Your file will be imported.

After configuring all plugin settings, you are ready to begin create and edit 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’ screen …

How To Add A New Item To Your To-Do List

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

For example, you can add new to-do items 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 also 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 will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the screen) …

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

Depending on how you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when when you add new to-do items.

Set up 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 new item to your list …

Note: If you have chosen 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 assign multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

Once a new item has been added, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to continue adding 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 associated with each item under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have set up the plugin (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 when logged into their own user dashboard …

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

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

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin page …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and display lists on any post or page using shortcodes.

Plugin Widget

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 menu location where you would like your list to show …

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

Your to-do list will now display wherever the widget has been added (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use s

Plugin Shortcodes

The plugin also lets you create to-do lists and checklists on your site with short codes.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard menu …

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

Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ tab to access the Shortcode Documentation section …

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

Once you know what information you would like to add to your site, create a new page or post and either type or paste the shortcode into the content area …

After publishing your page or post, you should see the list showing in the location where you have inserted the shortcode …

To download this plugin, visit this site:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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