Creating A To Do List In WordPress

If you are running a fast-paced business or managing any kind of project that requires people to work together as a team, time always seems to be in short supply.

There are so many things to do and remember. You have deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to stop.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with regular content and everything can 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 day.

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

The Benefits Of Using To Do Lists

A “to do” list can help to keep you on track and monitor your progress when trying to complete tasks. Your to do list can be quite detailed and specific, or act as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

A To-Do List Helps To Create Order

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

Be More Strategic

By creating and organizing a to do list, you can break larger projects into doable tasks and come up with a strategic plan to get things done on time and on budget.

Quickly Reschedule And Reorganize

Using to do lists help you better deal with changes in circumstances. If an appointment suddenly gets cancelled or extra time has been made available because some task got completed sooner than expected, you can keep moving forward with little to minimal disruption.

Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability lets excuses creep in and impact your productivity.

Better Delegation Of Tasks

A to-do list helps you better delegate work to others. This is also important if you plan to work 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. Creating to do lists, prioritizing tasks and working in a systematic way increases efficiency and productivity in your business.

What about adding a to-do list to your website?

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to add a to-do list to a WP website or blog 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 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 described below will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.

You can configure Cleverness To Do List 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 a number of settings. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to-do items to the user) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your lists and the 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 site. There are 2 short codes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is accessible through the back-end admin section.

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

Installing The Plugin

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

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ area …

The section below shows you how to go through the plugin setup process …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ area is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s now go through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item gets added to the To-Do List menu …

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

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

Private categories will not be visible using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to specify how your lists will be viewed. You can select three kinds of to do list views:

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

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If enabled, you can display which members have 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 tasks.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you will be able to specify deadlines for your to-do tasks …

Show Progress

Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WordPress 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

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do list items.

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 plugin author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

For more details about this plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner

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

Advanced Settings

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

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

In this screen you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to users and perform 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

In this section you can customize your To Do List …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

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

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

Items prioritized as “important” are shown in red and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays item IDs on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the date your table of items was added …

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

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

The following options can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can assign to-do items 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 items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned 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, WordPress automatically sends 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 this option is disabled, you can 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to-do categories displayed in the email subject.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if you have several 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. You can enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you would like showing as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type into this field a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users when new items have been added in 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

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 …

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

The following tasks can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations you perform 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 WP database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then get assistance from a WordPress professional, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate And Protect Your WP Website With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

If you choose the Individual List type, the only permission that is applicable for 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 be able to perform for each option …

By 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 allow non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Here is a description of the settings in the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit the selected 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 chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This enables the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the selected capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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

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

Add Categories Capability

This permits 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 want to copy over data from one website to another, or export the list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Here you can import and export your list 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 view or save your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium …

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 just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click on 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 and click ‘Open’ …

Once the data file has been uploaded in your settings area, 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 begin create and edit to do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

Add New Items To Your To-Do List

There are a number of ways to add new to-do items.

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

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

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

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

Configure 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have selected a list type that lets you assign responsibilities over items 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) …

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

Repeat this process to add new items to your list …

Edit And Delete 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 configuration plugin settings (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to do list, users can view the list from their user dashboard …

When the user assigned with the item completes the task and ticks the item checkbox …

… the item disappears from the “To-Do” list …

And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin area …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your website using widgets, and add a list to any page or post using shortcodes.

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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you would like your to-do list to appear …

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

The list will now display wherever the ‘to-do-list’ widget was placed (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Short Codes

You can also create to-do lists and checklists to your site by placing short codes into your content.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, click on 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 …

This section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists on your posts and pages.

Once you know what type of information you want to add to your site, open up a new post or page and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content area …

After publishing your page or post, you should see the list displayed exactly where you have inserted the shortcode …

To learn more about this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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