Creating A To Do List In WordPress

If you plan to run a growing business or manage other people, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, project tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and things can start to become unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, you need to be able to organize and manage your day.

A simple proven method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to take control is to use “to do” lists.

Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to do” list can help you monitor your progress as you complete projects. Your to do list can be quite detailed or specific, or act as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

A To-Do List Helps To Stay Organized

A to-do list helps you create order, stay organized and achieve goals sooner.

Better Strategic Planning

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you see the bigger picture and create a strategy to get everything completed on budget and on time.

Document Your Work

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

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much that needs to get done and very little time to do it in. Creating to do lists allow you to work on urgent tasks that need to get done within the time you have available, and reschedule tasks that can be worked on at a later time. This can help reduce stress.

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 to do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to do lists, then prioritizing tasks and working in a focused way improves efficiency and productivity in your business.

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

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add a to-do list to your WP 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

Plugin Download URL

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

Description

This plugin lets you easily add customizable to-do lists to your WordPress website or blog.

Features

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

You can configure the plugin to assign private to-do lists for individual users, to have all users share the same to do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

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 those items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to help you manage your lists and your to-do lists can also be displayed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Category management is accessed through the back-end.

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

Log into your WordPress dashboard area, and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the entry in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ section …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

Setting Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s go through 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 menu …

This allows you to add categories that can help organize your to-do lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

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

Categories marked ‘private’ are not visible when using sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how to-do lists will be viewed. There are three list views available:

• Individual – Choosing this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option lets all users share the same to-do list.
• Master – Select this option to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which of your members has added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you will be able to 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 (‘Yes’) displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP 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 to-do lists using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a collaborative 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 process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

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

After you are done configuring your plugin options in this section, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

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

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

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

Here you can 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 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 relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

Items given the highest priority display in red in the lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will show item IDs on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled (‘Yes’), 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 ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this section and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following options 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 this option is enabled, you can display tasks 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 (Administrator to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send 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 other items 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 on the subject of your emails …

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

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option displays the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, your site has several 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 to users. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Type into this field the email address that you would like showing as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users when a new item has been assigned 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

This area allows you to carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself …

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

You can perform the following tasks:

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

Actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your WP database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then get professional WordPress assistance services, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:

• Backup, Copy And Protect Your WordPress Website With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you choose the Individual List type, the only permission applicable for this section is the View To-Do List permission …

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 perform for each option …

The default general capabilities for 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 allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings in the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can enable 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 selected 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 allows the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to purge all the completed 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 want to copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or store 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 and import your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

You can export and download your data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …

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

In addition to exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress 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 download 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 …

Locate the file and click ‘Open’ …

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

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

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you are ready to start creating and editing your to-do lists.

How To Use The Plugin

To create a new to do list, go to your WordPress admin menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Add 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 bar …

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

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

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

Set up 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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign items to specific users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …

You can also make multiple users responsible for the same item (click on ‘x’ to remove a user) …

Once a new item has been added, it 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 Items

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to do list, users can view it when logged into their user dashboard …

When users assigned with completing an item click on the item checkbox …

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

And gets listed the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Plugin Information

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

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 location in your sidebar menu where you would like the to-do list to show …

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

The to-do list will now display wherever you have added the ‘to-do-list’ widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use WordPress Widget

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Shortcodes

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin also lets you display to-do lists and checklists on your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the dashboard menu …

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

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

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

Once you know what type of 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 exactly where you added the shortcode …

To download this plugin, visit this site:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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