Creating To Do Lists In WordPress

If you plan to run a hectic business, time is always in short supply.

There are so many things to do and remember. You have clients to meet, tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website updated with regular content and everything can quickly start to become unmanageable and chaotic.

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

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

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list can help you monitor your progress as you complete projects. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or serve as a reminder of tasks that need doing today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Clear Thinking

Writing a to do list means that you don’t have to memorize things or store information inside your brain. Once tasks are jotted down on a to do list, your brain is free to process other information and you can focus on other things that may be more important.

Strategize

After creating and organizing your to do list, you can break your workload into doable tasks and formulate a strategic plan for getting everything completed efficiently.

Reschedule Or Reorganize Quickly

Using to-do lists help you better handle changes in circumstances. If a meeting gets cancelled or extra time becomes available when something gets completed sooner than expected, you can keep moving forward with little to minimal loss of focus.

Eliminate Stress

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

Better Delegation Of Tasks

A to do list helps you assign work to other people better. This is also important if you plan to collaborate 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. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a systematic way and your business efficiency and productivity will improve.

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 create a to-do list in WordPress to help your business grow  faster and more efficiently using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

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

Plugin Features

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

You can configure Cleverness To-Do List to assign 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 specific users (this includes emailing a new to do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have assigned items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings to enable the display of 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 list can also appear on a 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 administration of the list. Management of categories is accessible through the back-end admin section.

If you plan to set up a multi-author blog you can use this plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also own the Post Planner plugin from the same developer.

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WordPress admin scroll down the 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 item in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ section …

The section below shows you how to set up the plugin …

Setting Up The Plugin

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

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

Let’s review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do list 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 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 will not be visible when using sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how lists are viewed. You can choose from 3 kinds of to do list views:

• Individual – Choosing this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Use this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – Select this option to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If enabled, you can display which of your members 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 (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for to-do items.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for to-do tasks …

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 lets you display the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

This option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option to display content in to-do lists using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

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

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

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

Advanced Settings

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

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

In this area you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform plugin 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 …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

In this section 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

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

Highest priority items are shown in red in the lists and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option displays the items’ IDs on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled, the date your to-do list was added will show 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 options in this section and assign items to other users …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option 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

If this option is enabled, you can display to-do items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled will display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Contributor to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. If you don’t 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 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 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want categories added to the email subject.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, you have various 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 emails to users. Type your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Enter a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent to users whenever a new item has been added to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

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

This section lets you perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area without having to access your server …

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

You can perform the tasks below:

• Delete Tables – Remove any 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 the database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your WordPress database first.

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

• Backup, Copy And Keep Your WP Web Site Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

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 option …

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to have access to for each option …

The default general capabilities for 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 make sure that you only allow non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

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

View To-Do List

This permits 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

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to add new to-do 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 setting permits the chosen capability to assign to-do 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

This allows the chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This permits the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This allows the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may want to transfer data from an existing to-do list to another website, or store the list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Use this section to easily import or export your list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

To export and download your list data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This will open up a window allowing you to download and save your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium …

In addition to exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your dashboard 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 save your file to your 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 …

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

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

Your file data will be imported.

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

Plugin Usage

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

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

Add New To-Do Items

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

For example, you can add new items to your to-do list from your dashboard bar …

You can also add new to-do items 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 will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

All the above methods 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.

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 are using a list type that lets you 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 remove a user) …

After the item has been added, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding new items to your to-do list …

Editing And Deleting 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 set up 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 the list from their own dashboard …

When the user assigned with an item completes the task and clicks on the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your website using widgets, and add a list to content inside a post or page using short codes.

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 would like the to-do list to appear …

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

Your list will appear wherever you have inserted the widget (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

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Short Codes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you create lists and checklists to your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

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

Click on the ‘Help’ tab on the top right hand 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 short codes for displaying lists on your pages and posts.

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

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 information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can add a to-do list to your WordPress site or blog.

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