Creating A To Do List In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you are a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never ends.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with new content and things can quickly start to feel unmanageable and overwhelming.

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

One ”tried and true” method that can help you save time, reduce stress, and allow you to take control is to use “to do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to do” list can help you measure your progress when working towards specific objectives. Your to do list can be very detailed or specific, or just serve as a reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Free Up Resources

Writing a to-do list means that you won’t have to try to memorize things or store unnecessary information inside your head. Once tasks are jotted down on a to do list, your head is free to process other information and you can focus on things that are more important to you.

Save Time

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

Reschedule Quickly

Using to-do lists let you better deal with situations. If you suddenly find that an appointment has been cancelled or extra time has been made available because a task was completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and keep moving forward with minimal loss of focus.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so little time to do it in. Creating a to-do list lets you work on urgent tasks that have to get done within a reasonable timeframe, and reschedule non-urgent tasks that can be worked on later. This can help you stress less.

Better Delegation

Having a to-do list helps you delegate tasks to others better. This is also important when collaborating on a team-based project (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, then prioritizing tasks and working systematically improves your business productivity and efficiency.

What about adding to do lists to your website?

In this detailed tutorial we are going to show you how to add to do lists to a WordPress site to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little plugin for WordPress called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Plugin Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Plugin Features

Note: the features listed 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 your 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 new to do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have assigned items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. 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 can also be displayed on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to-do list items on your site. There are 2 short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is restricted to the back-end.

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

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Inside your WordPress admin, go to the menu and choose Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the plugin in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

The section below shows you how to configure the plugin …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Let’s now configure each of these sections.

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 gets added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This lets you 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.

Private categories are not visible using widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how lists are viewed. There are three types of list views available:

• Individual – Choosing this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option lets users 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 items to complete. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled, you can display which of your members has added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress 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 (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in your to-do list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a multi-author website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more about using this plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Editorial Solution Plugin

After you have configured your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This screen lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to 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 settings in this section:

Date Format

Here you can specify how to display dates in your todo lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

Highest (important) priority items are shown in red and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display item IDs on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option shows the date your table of items was added …

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 to-do items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option 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 tasks 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 section (Administrator displays the type of users that can be assigned 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

If this option is enabled, 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 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to-do categories to show the subject of your emails.

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to-do categories to display the email subject.

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 is a useful option if your website has multiple 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 notifications. Enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you want displayed as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

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

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type 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 operations related to plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself without the need to log into your server …

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

You can perform the following tasks:

• Delete Tables – Delete custom database tables that are no longer being used.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Remove all of your 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 carry out database operations in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.

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

• Back Up, Duplicate & Keep Your WordPress Site Protected With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

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

If you plan to configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to be able to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities of 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-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

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

View To-Do List

This setting 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 permit the chosen capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to delegate 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 setting permits the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can enable the selected 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 decide to transfer 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 …

Here you can easily import or export your to-do 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 window allowing you to download and save your data as plain text to a storage device …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, 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 checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to an internal or external hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

Importing a 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 on ‘Import Settings’ …

Your file will be imported.

After configuring all of the plugin settings, you are ready to begin creating and editing to-do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

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

Adding New To Do Items

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

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 in the Dashboard 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 will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the page) …

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

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

Set up 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 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 remove a user) …

Once you have added a new item item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat the above 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 items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your configuration plugin settings (discussed in the previous section), 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 inside their dashboard …

When users assigned with completing an item tick the item check box …

… the item no longer appears in the “To-Do” list …

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and insert lists into any page or post using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List 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 the list to appear …

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

Your to-do list will appear where you have placed the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Short Codes

The plugin also lets you add lists and checklists on your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.

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

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

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

This documentation section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists and checklists on your content.

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

Publish your page or post and you will see the list showing exactly where you added the shortcode …

Visit this site for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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