Creating A To Do List In WordPress

When you run a growing business or manage any kind of project that involves people collaborating, time always seems to be in short supply.

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

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with new content and everything can start to become unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, keep track of your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, assign tasks to others effectively.

One simple “tried and true” tool that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to take control is to use “to do” lists.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help you track your progress as you work towards completing tasks. Your to do list can be detailed or specific, or serve as a reminder of tasks that need to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free The Brain

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

Time Prioritization

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

Log Your Work

To-do lists let you maintain 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 means of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Relieve Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so very little time to do it all in. Creating a to-do list lets you prioritize urgent items that have to get done immediately, and push out tasks that can be worked on at a later time. This can help reduce stress.

Better Delegation Of Tasks

To-do lists help you better delegate work to others. This is also important if you plan to collaborate within a team (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using to-do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a focused manner and productivity and efficiency in your business is sure to increase.

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

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add a to-do list to a WordPress website or blog to help your business grow 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 Plugin

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

Description

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

Features

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

You can configure 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 item completions.

The shared to do list option has a variety of settings available. You can delegate 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 viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your lists and the to-do list can also display 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 shortcodes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessible via the back-end.

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

Installing The Plugin

Log into your WordPress dashboard and in the main menu select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …

Let’s set up the plugin …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Let’s now review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do 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 plugin menu …

This allows you to add categories to your to-do 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’ will not be visible when using widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you specify how to-do lists will be viewed. You can choose from three types of to do list views:

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – Select this option 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 that you adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how your 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 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

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 items …

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WordPress Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled, you can 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 list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a multi-author site 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 …

For more information about using this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner

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

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

This screen lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform 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

In this section you can customize your To Do List …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

In this area you can 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, visit the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize labels for highest (important), middle and lowest (low) priority items …

Items given the highest (important) priority are shown in red and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, item IDs appear on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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

If you have chosen ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this area and assign 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 to-do items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the check box unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress automatically sends 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 (‘No’).

Note: If you disable this option, skip the remaining settings 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 email subject.

If you don’t want to-do categories displayed in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

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 option is useful if, for example, you have 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 notices. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users whenever new items have been added in 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 area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area itself …

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

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

Any actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are comfortable to carry out database operations in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data manually, then consider getting assistance from a WordPress professional, or use a backup plugin. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Clone And Protect Your WordPress Web Sites With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you have chosen the Individual List type, the only configurable option that applies in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to set 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 set 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-admin users should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Here is a description of the settings in this section:

View To-Do List

This setting enables the selected 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 enable the chosen capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

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 allow the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to assign 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

Here you can allow the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can allow 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

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may need to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or store your list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Use this section to export or import your 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 new window allowing you to download and save your data as plain text to an internal or external storage device …

In addition to exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, 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 on the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to an internal or external hard drive…

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 in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

After configuring all of the plugin settings, you can begin create and edit to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress admin, then scroll down the menu and click on To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Adding New To Do Items To Your List

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

For example, you can add new to-do items from your admin 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 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, since the link is only going to send 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’ section.

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

Set up 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 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 you have added a new item item, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat the above process to add new 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 each item under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (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 the user assigned with completing an item ticks the item checkbox …

… the item is then removed from the “To-Do” list …

And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ screen …

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and add lists to content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List 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 want the to-do list to display …

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

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

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

• How To Use WordPress Widget

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

You can also display to-do lists to your site with shortcodes.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the dashboard menu …

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

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

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

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

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

Visit the plugin website here for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add a to-do list to your WordPress site.

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