Creating A To Do List In WordPress

Time is always in short supply, especially if you run a fast-paced business.

There is just too much to do and remember. You have deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never ends.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website updated with fresh content and everything can suddenly begin to feel unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, keep track of your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, delegate responsibilities to members of your team or staff effectively.

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

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help to keep you on track and measure your progress as you complete tasks. Your to do list can be quite detailed or specific, or act as a concise reminder of the things that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Keep Things Organized

To-do lists help you create order, stay organized and reach your goals sooner.

Better Strategic Planning

Creating and organizing to do lists helps you break larger projects into more doable tasks and formulate a strategic plan to get tasks done effectively.

Keep Documented Work Logs

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

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there’s 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.

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 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. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work towards completing the tasks you have listed and your business efficiency and productivity will surely improve.

What about using to do lists on your WordPress website?

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to add to do lists to a WP website or blog to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Features

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

You can configure Cleverness To Do List with 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 completion of items.

The shared to do list option includes a number of different 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 those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available to enable the display of 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 list and your to do list can also appear 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 restricted to the back-end.

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

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your site’s administration section and in the main menu click on Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List entry 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: The ‘Settings’ screen can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

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

How To Configure The Plugin

The Settings area is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s now configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

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

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

This lets you add categories that you can use to 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 sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to specify how your to-do lists will be viewed. You can choose from three list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option allows users 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 – This option allows you to create a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you select 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 to order list items.

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

Show Added By

If enabled (‘Yes’), 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

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

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for 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 WordPress 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 to display content in to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author 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 provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

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

After you are done configuring your plugin 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 continue …

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

In this tab you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to users and carry out 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

Here you can customize your To-Do List …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

Here you can 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, visit the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this section you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest, middle (normal) and lowest items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs appear on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option will show the date the To-Do Items table was added …

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 settings in this area and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following settings 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

Enable this option to display tasks only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section Author to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then don’t tick its check box.

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 this option is disabled, 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 show categories in the subject of your emails.

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

Enable this option to 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

This field lets you customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

In this field, type the email address that you want 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 sent out automatically to users whenever a new item has been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, 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

This area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area without having to log into your server …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that previously deleted items are still appearing on your site.

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want to carry out database maintenance in this section, then make sure to backup your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to back up your site yourself, then get professional help, or use a WordPress backup plugin. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Clone & Protect Your WordPress Websites With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen the Individual List type, the only permission that is applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to have access to for each option …

The default general capabilities of each user role are 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-administrators should only be authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

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

View To-Do List

This allows 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

Here you can enable the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting enables 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 allow the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This option enables the selected capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may decide to copy over data from an existing list to another website, 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 …

Use this section to easily import or export your 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 will open up a window allowing you to download and save the 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 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 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 and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to 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’ screen …

How To Add New To Do Items

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 inside 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 contains many items, as the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have configured your plugin settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add new to-do items.

Select the options you have enabled for your to-do items, add appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign responsibilities over items 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 a user) …

After you have added a new item item, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

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

Edit And Delete To Do Items

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons associated with each item under the ‘Action’ column …

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

Once you have created your to do list, users can view the list from their own dashboard …

When the user assigned with completing an item ticks the item check box …

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

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the ’To-Do List’ page …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness Plugin Widget

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 (or footer) menu where you would like the list to show …

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

Your 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 widgets in WordPress, see the tutorial below:

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Shortcodes

You can also add to-do lists 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 WP admin menu …

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

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

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

Once you know what information you want to display on your site, open up a new post or page and either type or paste the shortcode into the content section …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed in the location where you added the shortcode …

To download this plugin, go here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a to-do list in WordPress.

***

***