Creating A To Do List In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you are running a growing business or managing other people.

There are so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never stops.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and things suddently begin to feel unmanageable and overwhelming.

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

A ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, alleviate stressful workloads, and allow you to take control is to use a “to do” list.

The Benefits Of Using To Do Lists

A “to do” list can help you monitor your progress as you work towards specific objectives. Your to do list can be quite detailed or specific, or act as a reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

To-Do Lists Create Order

To-do lists help you create order, stay organized and achieve your goals faster.

Strategize

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you break down your workload into more doable tasks and come up with a strategy to get things done effectively.

Keep Documented Work Logs

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

Accountability

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

Better Work Delegation

A to do list helps you better assign work 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. Creating a to do list, then prioritizing tasks and working systematically increases productivity and efficiency in your business.

What about adding a to do list to your WordPress website?

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

Cleverness To Do List

Download The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

Description

This plugin lets you easily add a to do list to WordPress.

Features

Note: the features listed below will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.

You can set up the plugin with private to-do lists for each user, to have all users share your to do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to do list provides different settings. You can assign to do items to a specific user (this includes emailing a new to do item to the user) and optionally to have those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to help you manage your list and the to-do list can also display on a 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 shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is accessible via the back-end.

If you plan to run a multi-author blog 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.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WP admin area 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 plugin in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

Note: You can also activate this plugin from the Plugins section …

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ area …

The section below shows you how to configure the plugin …

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Configuration

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

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

Let’s now review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘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 plugin menu …

This allows you to add categories that can help 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.

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

List View

List View lets you specify how lists will be viewed. There are 3 list views available:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to 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 completion of items. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you display which of your users has added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled, 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 lets you display 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

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

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running 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 plugin developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

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

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

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

Let’s take you through how to configure the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Customize The To-Do List

In this section you can customize your To-Do List …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Date Format

In this section you can specify how to display dates in your to-do list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this section you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest, normal and lowest (low) 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

If enabled (‘Yes’), the items’ IDs appear on your to-do 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 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 settings in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to 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 Subscriber) 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 you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends users an email with their assigned to-do items …

If you don’t want emails sent out to users, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Note: If this option is disabled, skip other settings 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 categories added to the subject of your emails.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want categories displayed in 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 your site has various 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 emails. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

In this field, type the email address that you would like to display as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Enter a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users whenever new items have been assigned in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, add 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 area you can perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself without having to access your server …

This function is useful if, for example, you see that previously deleted todo items are still appearing on your site.

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

• Delete Tables – Remove custom database tables that you no longer use.
• 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 make sure to backup your database first.

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

• Backup, Clone & Protect Your WordPress Websites And Blogs With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

If you have selected Individual List, the only item 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 want users to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities of each user role are configured 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 permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

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

View To-Do List

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This allows 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

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This option enables 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 an existing to-do list to another website, or export your data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Now you can import or export your to-do 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 new window allowing you to download and save your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium …

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

Locate the previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can 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 admin menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Adding New To-Do Items

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

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

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

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

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

Select 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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign items 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 you have added the new item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat the above process to continue adding items to your to-do list …

Edit And Delete 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 your plugin settings (discussed earlier), 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 WordPress user dashboard …

When users responsible for completing an item click on the item check box …

… the item is 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 provides added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your website using widgets, and display a list on content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Using The 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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you would like your list to show …

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

Your to-do list will appear where the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been inserted (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Short Codes

You can also display lists and checklists on your site with short codes.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from the WordPress 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 documentation section explains various ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists on your content.

Once you know what information you want to display on your site, create a new post or page and either type or paste the short code inside the content section …

Publish your post or page and you should see the list displayed in the location where you have inserted the short code …

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

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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