Creating A To Do List In WordPress

There are never enough hours in the day to get things done, especially when you are running a fast-paced business or managing any kind of project that involves people working together as a team.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with fresh content and everything can quickly start feeling unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, assign responsibilities to team members effectively.

One ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to regain control is to use “to-do” lists.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help you monitor your progress when trying to get projects completed. Your to do list can be very detailed and very specific, or serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

To Do Lists Create Order

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

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and manage your workload more effectively. You can develop a clearer perspective on what is more important vs what is not, and what tasks need to be done first.

Keep Documented Work Logs

A to-do list allows you to 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 monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Less Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the fact that there is so much to do and so very little time to do it all in. Creating to do lists allow you to prioritize urgent things that have to be completed within the time you have available, and reschedule items that can be worked on later. This can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and alleviate some of the stress you (and your team) may be feeling.

Collaborating With Others

Using to do lists and other project management tools is essential for collaborating with other people 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. Creating a to-do list, then prioritizing tasks and working systematically increases your business efficiency and productivity.

What about using to do lists on your WordPress website or blog?

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to create to-do lists in WordPress to help your team get things done  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to do list WordPress plugin 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 to-do lists to a WordPress site.

Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List with 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 provides a number of settings. You can delegate to do items to a specific user (this includes emailing new to do items to users) and optionally to have assigned items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included as front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to do list items on your site. There are two short codes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end admin section.

If you plan to set up a multi-author blog you can use this plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also download a copy of the Post Planner plugin.

Installing The Plugin

Log into your WP dashboard section, scroll down the main menu click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Setup

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s configure each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize your 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 lets you 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 shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you specify how lists are viewed. You can choose three list views:

• Individual – Choosing this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows users to share one to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to create one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. 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 list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

If enabled, you can display which members have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you can specify deadlines for your 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 lets you display the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP 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

If enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a collaborative 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 …

To learn more this plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Editorial Solution Plugin

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

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

In this section you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to users and perform plugin database maintenance.

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 in your to-do 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

This section lets you customize your labels for highest (important), middle and low priority 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 display on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option will display the date the table of items was added …

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 items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option lets you assign tasks 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

If enabled, you can display to-do items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned todo 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

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress automatically sends users an email with their assigned to-do items …

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

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip other items 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 email subject.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to-do categories added to the email subject.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option displays the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, your website has various 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. Type your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you want showing 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 automatically sent out to users whenever new items have been assigned to 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 section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside your plugin settings area …

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

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then make sure to backup your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to do manual backups, then consider getting professional support, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

• Back Up, Clone & Keep Your WP Sites Protected With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types …

If you have selected the Individual List type, the only item applicable for this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to configure 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 for 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 working with the Master list type non-administrator users should only be authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s go through the settings for this tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow 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 allows the chosen capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This permits the selected 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 permit the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This setting allows the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do 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 useful. For example, you may need to transfer data from an existing to-do list to another website, or export the list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Now you can export and import your to-do list data 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 window allowing you to download and save the data as plain text to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress 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 – pages, posts, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to a storage device…

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 …

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

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

Your file data will be imported.

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to begin create and edit your lists.

Plugin Usage

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 To Your List

There are several ways to add new items to your to-do list.

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

You can also add a new item to your to-do list inside 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 contains many items, since the link will simply send 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’ section.

Depending on how 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 items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

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

Repeat this process to continue adding items to your list …

Editing And Deleting 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 your plugin settings (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing 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 dashboard …

When users assigned with an item complete the task and tick the item checkbox …

… the item disappears from the “To-Do” list …

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your website using widgets, and insert a list into any post or page using short codes.

Plugin Widget

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

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

Your list will display on your site where you have added the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use WordPress Widget

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Short Codes

The plugin also lets you create lists and checklists to your site with short codes.

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

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes 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 section …

Publish your page or post and you will see the list displayed exactly where you added the shortcode …

Go here for more details about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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