Creating To-Do Lists In WordPress

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

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, projects to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never ends.

Now … add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website updated with fresh content and things suddently begin to feel unmanageable and out of control.

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

One simple “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.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you measure your progress as you work to get tasks completed. Your to-do list can be very detailed and very specific, or act as a concise 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:

Organization

Having to do lists help you create order, stay organized and reach your goals sooner.

Strategize

By creating and organizing a to do list, you can see the bigger picture and formulate a strategic plan to get tasks completed effectively.

Document Your Work

To-do lists allow you to retain documented logs of what work has been done. This can be used as evidence of work done to employers or clients, or simply as a method of helping you track your own productivity and efficiency.

Less Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the fact that there are so many things that needs doing and so little time to do it in. Using a to do list allows you to work on urgent items that have to be completed immediately, and push out non-urgent tasks that can be addressed later. This can help you stress less.

Improved Collaboration

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

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 efficiency and productivity in your business will improve.

Let’s turn now to using to-do lists on your website or blog. More specifically, adding a to do list to WordPress.

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily create a to-do list in 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 provides users with a to-do list feature.

Features

Note: the plugin features listed 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 a 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 specific users (this includes emailing new to-do items 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 show 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 list and the to-do lists can also be 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 two shortcodes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is accessible via the back-end.

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

Plugin Installation

Inside your site’s admin area, click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Configuring The Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s configure each of these tabs.

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 gets added to the To-Do List menu …

This lets you 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’ are not visible using sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how to-do lists will be viewed. You can select three types of to do 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 all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – Select this option to create 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 select 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 when ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

If enabled, 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 WP 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 lists using paragraphs.

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 to help make the task of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Visit this site to learn more about using this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

Once you have finished configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

After configuring the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab …

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

This tab lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.

Let’s step 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 in your todo lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this section you can customize labels for highest, middle and lowest priority items …

high priority items are colour-coded in red in your lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), the item’s ID show up on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings

If you have chosen either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the settings in this section and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option to assign tasks 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

If enabled, you can display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Contributor displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a role, then leave its checkbox unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends users an email 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 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-do categories to show the subject of your emails.

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

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 you have 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. You can enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, type a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users when new items have 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

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

This is useful if, for example, you notice that old todo items are still showing up on your site.

The tasks below can be performed:

• Delete Tables – Delete custom database tables that you no longer use.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all of your to-do items.

Any actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are comfortable 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 yourself, then get professional WordPress help, or use a backup plugin. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

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

User Permissions

In this area you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you have selected Individual List, the only setting that applies 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 want users to have access to for each option …

By 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 working with 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 itself.

Let’s review the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can enable 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

This enables the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This enables the selected capability to delegate 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 to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This setting allows 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 copy over data from an existing list to another website, or store the data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

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 to-do list data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This will open up a new window allowing you to view or save your data in plain text format to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your admin menu and choosing 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 the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your 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’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can begin create and edit your to-do lists.

How To Use The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress admin, then go to the 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 items to your to-do list.

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

You can also add new to-do items to your list in the Dashboard by clicking on the ‘Add To-Do item’ link …

You can 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, as the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

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

Depending on how you have configured your plugin settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add new to-do items.

Configure 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have selected a list type that allows you to assign tasks 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 delete a user) …

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

Repeat the above process to keep adding items to your to-do 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 your plugin configuration plugin settings (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

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

When users responsible for completing an item tick the item check box …

… the item is deleted from the “To-Do” list …

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

Additional Plugin Information

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

Widgets

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 your to-do list to appear …

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

The list will appear where you have added the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Using Plugin Shortcodes

You can also add lists and checklists on your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

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

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

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

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

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 inside the content area …

Publish your post or page and you will see the list displayed in the location where you added the short code …

Visit this site for more details about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a to-do list to your WordPress site.

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