Creating To-Do Lists In WordPress

Time is always in short supply, especially if you are running a hectic business.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and everything can quickly start feeling unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, it’s important to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.

A simple proven tool that can help you save time, alleviate stressful workloads, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to do” list helps you monitor your progress as you complete projects. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and very 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:

Think More Clearly

Creating a to-do list means that you won’t have to try to memorize stuff or clutter your head with details. Once things are recorded on a to-do list, your brain is free to process information and you can focus on more important things.

Better Strategic Planning

After creating and organizing a to-do list, you can see the larger picture and formulate a strategic plan to get everything completed effectively.

Reschedule Or Reorganize Quickly

Using to do lists let you better deal with situations. If you suddenly find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time becomes available when some task gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and keep working with no loss of focus.

Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and influence your productivity.

Better Work Delegation

Having a to do list helps you delegate tasks to other people better. 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 a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a focused manner and your business efficiency and productivity will surely improve.

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

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

Cleverness To Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This WordPress 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 set up Cleverness To Do List to assign 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 offers 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 those items be seen 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 included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your lists and your to do lists are also displayed on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are two short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessed through the back-end.

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

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

In your WP admin area, choose Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the plugin in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ page …

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 4 tabs:

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

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

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List 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 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 the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

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

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

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you display which of your users has added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays completion dates for your to-do items.

Show Deadline

If enabled, you will be able to specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

If enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WordPress Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If enabled, you will be able to add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option (‘Yes’) 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 plugin author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

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

After you have configured your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

After you have configured the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab …

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

In this section you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to other 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

In this area you can customize your To-Do List …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates on your todo lists (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

Here you can customize the labels for highest (important), middle (normal) and low priority items …

Items given the highest (important) priority are colour-coded in red in your lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option shows the items’ IDs on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date the to-do list was added appears on the 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 items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If this option is enabled, 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

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

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area Editor displays the type of users that can be assigned items. Leave the check box 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 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 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-do categories to appear the subject of your emails.

Leave this option disabled 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 to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if your site has a number of 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 notifications. You can enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you want to display as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users when a new item has been assigned in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, type 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 …

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

You can perform the following tasks:

• Delete Tables – Delete any 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 proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then we recommend backing up your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then get professional WordPress support, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Duplicate & Protect Your WordPress Website With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you choose Individual List, the only permission that applies in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like 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 using the Master list type non-administrator users should only be authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s go through the settings for the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option 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

This option permits the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This permits 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 want to transfer data from one site to another, or store your list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can import or export your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This will open up a new window allowing you to view or save your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your admin menu and choosing 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 selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking on 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 …

Select the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

After your data file has been uploaded in your settings area, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

Your file will be imported.

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

Plugin Usage

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

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

Add New To-Do Items

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

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

You can also add new items to your to-do 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 contains many items, since the link is only going to send 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 how you have configured your plugin’s settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding new to-do items.

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 to-do item …

Note: If you have chosen a list type that allows you to assign responsibilities over items to 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 remove a user) …

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

Repeat the above process to keep adding items to your list …

Editing And Deleting Items

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons next to items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your plugin configuration settings (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 it when logged into their own user dashboard …

When users responsible for completing an item tick the item check box …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and insert a list into any post or page using short codes.

Using The 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 to-do list to appear …

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

The list will now display wherever the widget was placed (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Using Plugin Short Codes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you add to-do lists to your site with short codes.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard menu …

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use short codes to display lists on your pages and posts.

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

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

Go here to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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