Creating To-Do Lists In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you are a business owner or busy project manager.

There is just too much to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never ends.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with fresh content and everything can quickly start becoming unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, monitor your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, assign responsibilities to members of your team effectively.

One simple proven method that can help you save time, alleviate stressful workloads, and allow you to take control is to use a “to do” list.

The Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to-do” list can help to keep you on track and monitor your progress as you work to get projects completed. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Clearer Thinking

Writing a to-do list means that you won’t have to try to memorize things or clutter your mind with details. Once things are written down on a to do list, your head is free to process other information and you can focus on other areas that may be more important.

Better Strategic Planning

After creating and organizing a to do list, you can see the larger picture and come up with a strategy for getting everything done efficiently.

Document Your Work

A to-do list allows you to maintain documented logs of what has been done. This can be used as evidence of work done to employers or clients, or just as a method of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much to do and so very little time to do it all in. Using to-do lists allow you to work on urgent items that have to be completed within a reasonable timeframe, and push out items that can be addressed later. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to take away some of the stress you may be feeling.

Collaboration

Creating to do lists and other project management tools is essential for getting other people involved 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 in a systematic way and productivity and efficiency in your business will surely improve.

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

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add a to-do list to WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list plugin for WordPress called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Plugin Description

This plugin lets you easily add a to do list to WordPress.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can configure the plugin to have 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 provides different settings. You can assign to do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to do items to users) and optionally to have those items only viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available 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 admin backend to help you manage your lists and your to do lists can also display 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 two 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 site you can use this to do lists plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post editors if you also use a copy of the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Installing The Plugin

From your WP dashboard, click on Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the plugin in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

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 your admin menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ page …

The section below shows you how to configure the plugin …

How To Configure The Plugin

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

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

Let’s now take you through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

List View

List View lets you choose how to-do lists will be viewed. There are 3 kinds of list views available:

Individual – Use this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
Group – Use this option if you want all users to share the same to-do list.
Master – Use this option to create 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 adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If enabled, you can display which of your users has added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If enabled, you can specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 WordPress Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling 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 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, developed by the same author that helps to make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

To learn more this plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Editorial Solution Plugin For WordPress

After configuring your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

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

In this tab 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

In this section you can customize your To-Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

Here you can specify how to display dates on your to-do list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, see 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 (normal) and low items …

high 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 (‘Yes’) displays the items’ IDs on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option shows the date the items table was added …

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 settings in this section and assign items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this area:

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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays 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 particular role, then leave its check box unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When this option is enabled, WordPress automatically sends users an email with their assigned to-do items …

If you don’t want to send out emails to users, then leave this option disabled.

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip 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 to display to-do categories in the email subject.

If you don’t want to show to-do categories in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays 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

Use this field to customize the “From” field when sending out emails. Type your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be sent out automatically to users whenever 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 perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area without having to access your web server …

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

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations performed 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 we recommend backing up your WP database first.

If you don’t want to back up your site yourself, then consider using professional help services, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress site backups here:

Back Up, Duplicate And Protect Your WordPress Websites And Blogs With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

If you select the Individual List type, the only configurable option applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you are configuring 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 …

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 working with the Master list type make sure that you only permit non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

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

View To-Do List

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option permits 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 setting permits the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

Here you can enable the chosen 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 one website to another, or export the 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 to-do 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 (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 WordPress main 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 – 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 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 previously saved to-do list data 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.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can start create and edit your to-do lists.

How To Use The Plugin

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

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

Adding New Items To Your To-Do List

There are a number of 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 items to your to-do list using the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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 take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when adding new items to your to-do list.

Set up the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter 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 have selected 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 multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to remove users) …

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

Repeat this process to continue adding new items to your list …

Editing And Deleting To Do 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 completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to-do list, users can view it inside their own dashboard …

When users assigned with completing an item tick the item check box …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and insert lists into any 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’ page (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the menu location where you want your to-do list to appear …

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

Your list will now display on your site where you have inserted the ‘to-do-list’ widget (e.g. 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 Plugin Short Codes

The plugin also lets you create lists on your site with short codes.

To access the documentation on using short codes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the WordPress 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 different ways to configure and use short codes to display lists and checklists on your posts and pages.

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing page or post and either type or paste the shortcode into the content editor …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed where you have inserted the short code …

Go here for more details about this plugin:

Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can add to-do lists in WordPress.

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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum

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