Creating To-Do Lists In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you are a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, projects to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and everything can start feeling 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 activities, track your progress, and, if necessary, delegate responsibilities to members of your team effectively.

A simple “tried and true” tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to take control is to use a “to-do” list.

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to do” list can help you measure your progress when trying to achieve specific objectives. Your to-do list can be very detailed or specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Organization

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

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time better. You can gain a clearer perspective on what is more urgent vs what’s not, and what steps should be completed first.

Keep Documented Work Logs

A to-do list lets you keep documented logs of what work has been done. You can use this to provide evidence of work to employers or clients, or just as a method of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Eliminate Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much that needs to get done and so little time to do it all in. Creating to do lists allow you to work on important tasks that need to get done immediately, and reschedule tasks that can be worked on at a later time. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Collaborating With Others

Using 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 systematically and productivity and efficiency in your business is sure to improve.

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

In this detailed tutorial we are going to show you how to easily create a to do list in WordPress to help your team get things done  faster and more efficiently using a great little 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.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can configure Cleverness To Do List to assign private to-do lists for each user, 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 specific users (this includes a setting to email 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. There are also settings to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your lists and the to do list is also listed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to do list items on your site. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end admin section.

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

Plugin Installation

From your site’s admin, select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ screen …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

How To Configure The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

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

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

To-Do List Settings

Categories

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

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

This lets you add categories that you can use to 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 set to ‘private’ will not be visible when using widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

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

• Individual – Selecting this option allows users 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 – Choose this option 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 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 ID, Alphabetical, or Category options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

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

Note: This setting only works if ‘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

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

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to 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

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

If enabled, automatic paragraphs are used to display content in your to-do lists.

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, from the same plugin developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Visit this site for more information about this plugin: WordPress Post Planner

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

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

This area lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and carry out plugin database maintenance.

Let’s take you 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 allows you to 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 todo list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option shows the item’s ID on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date your to-do list was added will show on your table of items …

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

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

The following settings can be configured in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to assign to-do items 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) will display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want emails sent out to users.

Note: If this option is disabled, skip the remaining settings 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 show categories in the email subject.

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

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 your website 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. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add into this field a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent to users whenever a new item has been assigned to 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

This area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you perform database maintenance tasks related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area without the need to log into your web server …

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

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

Actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want to perform database operations in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.

If you don’t want to do site backups, then consider getting assistance from a WordPress professional, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform automated WordPress site backups here:

• Back Up, Copy And Protect Your WP Sites With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you are using Individual List, the only configurable option applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to have access to for each option …

By default, general capabilities for each user role are 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-administrator users should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s review the settings for this tab:

View To-Do List

This enables the chosen capability to view to-do items in the dashboard widget and on the To-Do List page under the ‘Tools’ section.

Complete To-Do Item Capability

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the selected 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 allows 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

This option enables the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This option allows the chosen 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 to-do list to another website, or store the list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Now you can easily import or export your data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a new window allowing you to view or save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) 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 main menu and choosing Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, 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 list data file is easy. Just 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 your data file has been uploaded to your settings area, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

Your file data will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing to do lists.

Plugin Usage

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’ 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 to your list from your WP dashboard toolbar …

You can also add new to-do items to your list using the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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 already contains many items, since the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the screen) …

The methods shown above 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 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 have chosen a list type that lets you assign tasks to 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) …

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

Repeat this process to keep adding 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 items under the ‘Action’ column …

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

After creating your to-do list, users can view it inside their user dashboard …

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

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and add a list to any page or post using short codes.

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 menu location where you would like the list to appear …

Configure the widget settings and click ’Save’ …

The list will appear where you have inserted the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Plugin Shortcodes

You can also create lists and checklists to your site using short codes.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the admin menu …

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

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

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

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, create a new post or page and either type or paste the short code inside the content editor …

Publish your post or page and you should see the list showing in the location where you entered the shortcode …

To learn more about this plugin, visit this site:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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