Creating To Do Lists In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you are a business owner.

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

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with fresh content and things can quickly start becoming unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, track your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, delegate responsibilities to members of your team or staff effectively.

One proven method that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to regain control is to use a “to-do” list.

Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to do” list helps you measure your progress when working towards your objectives. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and specific, or act as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free Your Brain

Writing to-do lists means that you don’t have to try to memorize stuff or clutter your mind with details. Once tasks are jotted down on a to do list, your head is free to process information and you can focus on other important areas.

Better Manage Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can develop a clearer perspective on what is truly important vs what’s not, and what steps need to be completed first.

Keep Documented Work Logs

To-do lists allow you to maintain documented logs of what has been done. You can use this as evidence of work to employers or clients, or simply as a way of helping you track your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

With no accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and take over your work day.

Better Delegation Of Work

A to do list helps you better assign tasks to others. This is also important when collaborating 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. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work towards completing the tasks on your list and your business productivity and efficiency is sure to improve.

What about using a to do list on your website?

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to easily create to do lists 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 Download URL

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

Plugin Description

This plugin lets you easily add customizable to do lists to WordPress.

Features

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

You can set up 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 has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email new to do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have assigned 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 help you manage your list and the to do lists can also be displayed on the 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 admin section.

If you plan to set up a multi-author site you can use this to-do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also download the Post Planner plugin for WordPress from the same developer.

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WordPress admin area scroll down the menu click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The settings area can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …

The section below shows you how to configure the plugin …

Plugin Setup

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s take you through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

This lets you add categories that you can then use to organize 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’ are not visible when using the sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to specify how lists will be viewed. You can select 3 kinds of list views:

• Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to be able to 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 – Use this option to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which members 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 items.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 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 (‘Yes’) to display content in to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run 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 to help make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

For more details about this plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

When you are done configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

In this area you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform plugin 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

Here 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 in your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, visit the date 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” display in red in your lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option displays item IDs on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will show the date the table of items was added …

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 options 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 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

If this option is enabled, you can display items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) 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 check box 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 an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

If you don’t want emails sent out to users, then leave this option disabled.

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

If you don’t want categories to appear the subject of your emails, 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 is a useful option if your site 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 emails to users. You can 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 want showing as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be sent out automatically to users whenever a new item has been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type in 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 carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself without having to log into your server …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that to-do items you have previously deleted are still appearing on your site.

The tasks below can be performed:

• Delete Tables – Remove 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 sure that you want to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then make sure to backup your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data manually, then consider getting professional WordPress support, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Duplicate & Protect Your WP Sites 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 selected Individual List, the only permission applicable in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are configuring user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to have access to for each option …

The 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 using the Master list type make sure that you only permit non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

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

View To-Do List

This option permits 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

This allows the chosen capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This enables the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can permit 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 option permits the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can permit the chosen 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 want to transfer data from one site to another, or export your list 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 data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a new window allowing you to download and save your data in plain text format to a storage medium …

As well as exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your dashboard menu and selecting 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 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’ …

Once your data file has been uploaded in your settings area, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

Your file will be imported.

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

How To Use The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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 New Items To Your To-Do List

There are several ways to add a new item to your to-do list.

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

You can also add new to-do items to your list using 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 already contains many items, since the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

The above methods will bring 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.

Configure the options you have enabled for your to-do items, add appropriate values and 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 responsibilities over items to 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 delete a user) …

After After adding a new item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to continue adding items to your to-do list …

Edit And Delete 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 your plugin configuration settings (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

Once you have created your to-do list, users can view it when logged into their own user dashboard …

When users responsible for the item complete the task and click on 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’ screen …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress website 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 menu location where you would like the to-do list to appear …

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

Your to-do list will now display wherever the ‘to-do-list’ 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 WordPress Widget

Shortcodes

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, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard menu …

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

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

The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists and checklists on your posts and pages.

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

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

Visit this site for more information about this plugin:

• 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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