Creating A To-Do List In WordPress

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

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, project tasks 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 stops.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website updated with regular content and things can start to feel unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to members of your team efficiently.

A proven method that can help you save time, alleviate stress, and allow you to regain control is to use a “to do” list.

The Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to-do” list helps you monitor your progress as you work towards completing projects. Your to-do list can be detailed or specific, or act as a concise reminder of the things that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Stay Organized

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

Be More Strategic

Creating and organizing to do lists helps you see the bigger picture and come up with a strategic plan to get things completed effectively.

Reschedule Or Reorganize Quickly

Having a to do list helps you better cope with situations. If you suddenly find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time is made available when some task gets completed sooner than expected, you can keep moving forward with little to no disruption.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much that needs doing and so very little time to do it in. Creating a to do list lets you work on urgent items that need to be completed immediately, and push out items that can be addressed at a later time. This can help reduce stress.

Delegate Better

To-do lists help you delegate tasks to other people better. This is also important when collaborating on a team-based project (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 things systematically and efficiency and productivity in your business will surely increase.

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

In this tutorial we are going to show you how to add to-do lists to WordPress to help your business grow  faster and more efficiently using a great little plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin URL

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

Description

This WordPress plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

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 individual users, to have all users share a to do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to do list includes a number of settings. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to the user) and optionally to have those items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your list and your to do list is also listed 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 shortcodes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is accessible through the back-end.

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

Installing The Plugin

Inside your WP administration area, select 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 tab and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the settings section by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Configuration

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s go through each of these tabs.

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 menu …

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

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

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

List View

List View allows you to choose how lists are viewed. There are 3 types of to-do list views:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows 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 configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which of your members has added an item to your to-do list.

Note: This setting only works when ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for to-do tasks …

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

If enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WordPress Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

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 your to-do lists using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a multi-author website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, developed by the same author to help make the process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Go here to learn more about this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

When you are done configuring your options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

Once 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’ section …

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

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 area 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 in your todo lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display the items’ IDs on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will show the date the table of items 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 options in this section and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

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

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area (Administrator displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you don’t want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When this option is enabled, WordPress automatically sends 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.

Note: If you disable this option, 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 on the subject of your emails …

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

If you don’t want to show 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 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

This field allows you to customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications to users. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Type into this field the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” email 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 assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Add 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

In this area you can carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself without having to log into your server …

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

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to perform database maintenance in this section, then remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data manually, then get support from a WordPress professional, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform complete WordPress file and data backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate And Keep Your WordPress Site Protected With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

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 item 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 would like users to perform for each option …

By default, general capabilities for each user role are set as follows:

• Subscribers: Read
• Contributors: Edit Posts
• Authors: Publish Posts
• Editors: Edit Others Posts
• Administrators: Manage Options

Note: When using the Master list type make sure that you only permit non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

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

View To-Do List

This permits 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

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This setting permits the chosen capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

Here you can enable the chosen 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 your 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 export and import your list 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 save your data in plain text format to a storage device …

In addition to exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress admin menu and selecting 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 the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to a storage device…

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 previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

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

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

This brings up the ‘To-Do List’ page …

Add New To Do Items

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

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

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 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 at the bottom of the page) …

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

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

Select 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 are using a list type that lets you assign items to specific users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …

You can also make multiple users responsible for the same item (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

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

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

Editing And Deleting To-Do Items

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 set up the plugin (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

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

When users responsible for the item complete the task and click on the item checkbox …

… the item disappears 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 to-do lists on your website using widgets, and insert a list into any page or post 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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you would like the list to display …

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

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

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using Plugin Shortcodes

You can also display to-do lists to your site with short codes.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your 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 to display lists and checklists on your pages and posts.

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

After publishing your page or post, you should see the list showing where you have added the shortcode …

To download this plugin, visit the plugin website:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can add to-do lists to your WordPress site or blog.

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