Creating To Do Lists In WordPress

As a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team, there is never enough time to get everything done.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with new content and everything can suddenly begin feeling unmanageable and overwhelming.

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

A ”tried and true” method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to do” list.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help you track your progress when trying to achieve your objectives. Your to-do list can be detailed or specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of tasks that need to be done over a given period of time.

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

Keep Things Organized

A to-do list helps you create order, stay organized and reach your goals faster.

Save Time

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

Reschedule Quickly

Having a to do list helps you better cope with situations. If you find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time has been made available because some aspect of the project got completed sooner than expected, you can continue moving forward with little to no loss of focus.

Eliminate Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many things that needs doing and so little time to do it in. Creating a to do list lets you prioritize urgent items that have to be completed immediately, and reschedule items that can be addressed later. This can help reduce stress.

Improved Collaboration

Using to do lists and other project management tools is essential for working with other people on some of your larger or more complex projects.

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, prioritizing tasks and working in a focused way improves your business productivity and efficiency.

What about using to-do lists on your website or blog?

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to add to-do lists to WordPress to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to do list plugin 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 customizable to do lists to a WordPress site.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List 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 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 assigned users) 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 included as well in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your list and the to-do lists 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 blog. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is restricted to the back-end admin section.

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 install the Post Planner plugin.

How To Install The Plugin

From your WordPress administration section, choose Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

Note: You can also activate the plugin from the Plugins screen …

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the settings screen by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

Plugin Setup

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

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

Let’s now review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize lists 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 menu …

This allows you to add categories to your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can create ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your to-do lists.

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

List View

List View allows you to specify how your lists will be viewed. You can choose from three kinds of list views:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option allows users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If you choose 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-do list items will be sorted.

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 the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for your to-do tasks.

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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display content in your to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a collaborative site or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same plugin developer to help make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Visit this site to learn more about this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Multi-Author Publishing Plugin

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

Advanced Settings

After you have configured the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …

This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

In this screen you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform 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

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

This section lets you 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, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this area you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest, middle and lowest (low) items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option shows item IDs on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added will display on your table of items …

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 area and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display tasks only to users who have been 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 Author displays the type of users that can be assigned todo 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

If this option is enabled, WordPress will automatically send users an email with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) 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 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 categories added to the email subject.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to-do categories to appear 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 option is useful if, for example, your website has a number of 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 email notices to users. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in 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

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 carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area itself without having to access your web server …

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

The following tasks can be performed:

• Delete Tables – Delete custom database tables that are no longer being used.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Delete all of your to-do items.

Actions that you perform on the 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 remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to perform your own backups, then get professional assistance, or use backup plugins. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform complete file and database backups here:

• Back Up, Duplicate & Protect Your WordPress Websites And Blogs 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 have chosen the Individual List type, the only item applicable in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you plan to configure 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 …

By 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 working with the Master list type non-admin users should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings in this section:

View To-Do List

This option allows the chosen 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 setting permits the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This 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 enable the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This 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 need to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or export your data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Use this section to export or import your 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 will open up a new window allowing you to download and save your data as plain text to a storage medium …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your dashboard 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 the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to a storage medium…

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 file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data 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 The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Adding New To-Do Items

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 toolbar …

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 at the bottom of the screen) …

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

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

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

Note: If you are using 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 items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to remove users) …

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

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

Edit And Delete Items

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons associated with items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have configured your settings (see previous section), 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 own user dashboard …

When a user assigned with completing an item ticks the item checkbox …

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

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and display a list on content inside a post or page using short codes.

Widgets

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 appear …

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

Your list will appear on your site where the widget was added (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Short Codes

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you add to-do lists on your site using shortcodes.

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

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

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

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

Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content area …

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

Visit the plugin website here to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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