Creating To Do Lists In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially when you are running a growing business or managing other people.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and things suddently 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 tasks, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, delegate responsibilities to others efficiently.

One simple “tried and true” tool that can help you save time, alleviate stressful workloads, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to-do” list.

Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to do” list can help you monitor your progress as you complete projects. Your to-do list can be quite detailed and specific, or just serve as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

To Do Lists Help To Create Order

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

Strategize

Creating and organizing to do lists helps you see the larger picture and formulate a strategy to get tasks completed on budget and on time.

Log Your Work

To-do lists allow you to keep documented logs of what you have done. You can use this to provide evidence of work to clients or employers, or simply as a way of helping you track your own productivity and efficiency.

Less Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much that needs to get done and very little time to do it in. Creating to-do lists allow you to work on important things that have to get done within a reasonable timeframe, and reschedule non-urgent tasks that can be worked on at a later time. This can help you stress less.

Collaborate Better 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 in a focused manner and productivity and efficiency in your business will increase.

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

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to add to-do lists to a WordPress site to help your team get things done  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/

Description

This plugin lets you easily add customizable to-do lists to a WordPress site.

Plugin Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List with private to do lists for each user, to have all users share your to do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to-do list offers different settings. You can delegate to do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email a new to-do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings available 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 help you manage your lists and the to do list can also appear 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 2 short codes for front-end administration of the list. Management of categories is accessed through the back-end.

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

Installing The Plugin

From your site’s admin, go to the 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 tab and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ section …

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

Configuring The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

• To-Do List Settings – In this area you can specify the main plugin settings.
• Advanced Settings – This section is where you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items 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 area let you export and import to-do plugin and list data settings.

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

To-Do List Settings

Categories

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

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

This allows you to add categories that can help 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 when using the 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 from 3 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 – Choosing this option allows all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to have a 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 sort list items.

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled, you can 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

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

Show Deadline

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

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 (‘Yes’) displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress Dashboard 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

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

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 that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Go here for more information about this plugin: WordPress Post Planner

After you have finished configuring your plugin options in this section, 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 …

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

This screen lets you 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

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

This section lets you specify how to display dates on your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest, normal and low items …

Items prioritized as “important” are color-coded in red 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 the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added will show on the To-Do Items table …

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

If this option is enabled, you can 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 to display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

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

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If 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 emails sent out to users.

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 on the subject of your emails …

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

If you don’t want categories displayed in the email subject, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, 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 email notifications to users. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent to users when new items have been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type 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

This area allows you to carry out database maintenance tasks related to plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself without having to access your web server …

This function is useful if, for example, you see that to-do items you have already deleted are still listed on your site.

You can perform the following tasks:

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

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

If you don’t want to back up your data yourself, then consider using professional assistance services, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Clone & Protect Your WordPress Site With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen the Individual List type, the only configurable item that is 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 configured 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.

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

View To-Do List

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can permit 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 allow the chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option permits 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 want to copy over data from one site to another, or export your list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Use this section to easily export or 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 will open up a new window allowing you to download and save your data as plain text to an internal or external hard drive …

In addition to exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, 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 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 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 …

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

After uploading your data file, click on 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 begin creating and editing your lists.

How To Use The Plugin

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 you to the ‘To-Do List’ page …

How To Add New To Do Items

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

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

You can also add new to-do items 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, as the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding new to-do items.

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 new item to your list …

Note: If you are using 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 users) …

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

Repeat the above process to add new items to your to-do list …

Edit And Delete To Do Items From Your List

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 your settings (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When the user assigned with completing an item ticks the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

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

Widgets

To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ section (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the location in your sidebar menu where you would like the list to display …

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

The to-do list will appear on your site where the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been inserted (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

To learn more about how to use widgets in WordPress, see the tutorial below:

• How To Use WordPress Widget

Plugin Short Codes

You can also add lists on your site with shortcodes.

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

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

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

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

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

After publishing your page or post, you should see the list displayed exactly where you have inserted the shortcode …

For more details about this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

***

***