Creating To Do Lists In WordPress

Time is always in short supply, especially if you are running a growing business or managing other people.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never stops.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with new content and everything can start feeling unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, track your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks and responsibilities to members of your team or staff effectively.

One proven tool 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 To-Do Lists

A “to do” list can help you measure your progress as you work to achieve a certain goal. Your to-do list can be very detailed and very specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free The Brain

Writing to-do lists means that you won’t have to try and remember things or clutter your head 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 important areas.

Prioritize Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can develop a better perspective on what is more important vs what isn’t, and what tasks should be done first.

Keep Documented Work Logs

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

Ensures Accountability

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

Collaborate Better With Others

Creating to-do lists and other project management tools is essential for working with others 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. Creating a to do list, then prioritizing tasks and working systematically increases your business productivity and efficiency.

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 to-do lists to WordPress to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently 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 WordPress plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List to have private to-do lists for individual users, 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 delegate to-do items to a specific user (this includes emailing new to do items to the 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 available to display 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 help you manage your list and the to-do list can also be displayed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are two short codes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is restricted to the back-end admin section.

If you plan to set up 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 download a copy of the Post Planner plugin for WordPress from the same developer.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Inside your WP dashboard section, scroll down the main menu and select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The ‘Settings’ section can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

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

Plugin Setup

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

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

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

List View

List View allows you to specify how your to-do lists are viewed. You can choose 3 types 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 – Choose this option if you want all users to share one 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 you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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 (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

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

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 plugin developer to help make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

For more details about using this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – Editorial Solution Plugin For WordPress

After configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

In this section you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.

Let’s go 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’ screen lets you customize your To Do List …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

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

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, refer to the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this area you can customize the labels for important, middle (normal) and lowest (low) priority items …

high priority items are colour-coded in red in the lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs will display on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option displays the date your 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 area and assign to-do items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this section:

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

Enabling this option displays 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 section Contributor to display 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

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

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

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip the remaining 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option lets you 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 in the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users whenever new items have been added to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Enter 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 section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself without the need to log into your server …

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

You can perform the following tasks:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to carry out database maintenance in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files manually, then get professional help services, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform automated WordPress file and database backups here:

• Backup, Clone & Protect Your WordPress Website With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

This section lets you configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you are using Individual List, the only setting that applies 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 want users to be able to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities of each user role are set up 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 non-admin users should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

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

View To-Do List

This setting permits 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

Here you can permit the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This allows the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This permits the selected capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to assign items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting permits 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 enable the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This setting enables the selected capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may decide to copy over data from one website to another, or store the list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Now you can export and import your to-do list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a new window allowing you to view or download your data as plain text to an internal or external drive …

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

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – pages, posts, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to an internal or external 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 the data file has been uploaded in your settings area, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

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 create and edit to do lists.

How To Use The Plugin

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 you to the ‘To-Do List’ screen …

Adding A New Item To Your List

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

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

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 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, since the link will simply take 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’ section.

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

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 item to your list …

Note: If you have chosen 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 you have added a new item item, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ 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 next to each item under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have set up the plugin (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When users assigned with completing an item tick the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

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

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

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

The list will appear 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 WordPress widgets, see the tutorial below:

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Short Codes

You can also create lists and checklists on your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

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

The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists on your content.

Once you know what information you would like to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the short code into the content area …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed exactly where you entered the shortcode …

To learn more about this plugin, go here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add to-do lists to your WordPress site.

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