Creating A To Do List In WordPress

When you run a hectic business, time is always in short supply.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website updated with regular content and everything can start to become unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and manage your day.

A ”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 a “to do” list.

The Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to-do” list helps you track your progress when working towards specific objectives. Your to do list can be detailed or specific, or serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

To-Do Lists Create Order

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

Better Strategic Planning

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you view the bigger picture and come up with a strategy to get things done efficiently.

Keep Work Logs

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

Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability lets excuses creep in and influence your productivity.

Sense Of Accomplishment

Crossing items off to do lists not only helps you feel more positive, motivated and in-control, it also lets you stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is getting done and that milestones are being reached.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to-do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to do lists, prioritizing tasks and working to complete the items listed improves your business efficiency and productivity.

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

In this detailed tutorial we are going to show you how to easily create a to do list in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This WordPress plugin lets you easily add to-do lists to a WordPress website or blog.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can set up the plugin to have 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 has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to do items to users) and optionally to have assigned items only viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included as front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are two shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Category management is accessed through the back-end admin section.

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

How To Install The Plugin

Log into your WP dashboard and select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s ‘Settings’ section can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

Setting Up The Plugin

The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ area is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s configure each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

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

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

This lets you add categories that you can then 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 to-do lists.

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

List View

List View lets you specify how lists are viewed. There are three to do list views you can select:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets each user create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets all users share one to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to have 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 adjust 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 choose Alphabetical, ID or Category, ID, Category or Alphabetical options, items will be first sorted by priority.

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you display which of your members 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, completion dates will display for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WP 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 this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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, from the same plugin developer to help make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Visit this site to learn more about using this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

When you have finished configuring your plugin options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

After configuring the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This screen lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks 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 in your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for important, middle (normal) and lowest (low) priority items …

Highest priority items are shown in red and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, the item’s ID show on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled, the date your to-do list was added will display 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 settings in this section and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) will display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

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

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled, WordPress will automatically send 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 (‘No’).

Note: If you disable this option, skip the other items 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 categories displayed in the subject of your emails.

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want categories to show 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 option is useful if, for example, your site has a number of 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 the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you would like 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 automatically sent out to users whenever a new item has been added to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, 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

In this section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself …

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

The following tasks can be performed:

• Delete Tables – Delete custom database tables that you are no longer using.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Delete all of your 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 database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files yourself, then consider hiring a professional, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate And Keep Your WP Websites Protected With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

In this area you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types …

If you have chosen Individual List, the only configurable option that is applicable 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 …

By default, general capabilities of each user role are configured 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 make sure that you only authorize non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s now review the settings for this 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 enables the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This enables the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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 setting allows the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This enables 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 copy over data from one website to another, 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 easily import or export your to-do list data 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 window allowing you to view or save your data as plain text to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting to-do list 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 an export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘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 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’ …

Once uploading the data file, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can start create and edit 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’ screen …

Add New To Do Items

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

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

You can also add new items to your to-do list from 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, as the link is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the screen) …

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin’s settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add new to-do items.

Select the options you have enabled for your to-do items, add appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the item to your list …

Note: If you have chosen a list type that lets you 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) …

Once After adding a new item, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to add new items to your to-do 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 how you have configured the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to do list, users can view it from their user dashboard …

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

… the item no longer appears in the “To-Do” list …

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and add a list to content inside a page or post using short codes.

Using The 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 location in your sidebar menu where you want the list to display …

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

The list will display on your site where the widget was inserted (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Shortcodes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you create to-do lists on your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.

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

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

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

This documentation section explains various ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists and checklists on your pages and posts.

Once you know what type of information you want to display on your site, open up a new post or page and either type or paste the short code inside the content editor …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list showing where you entered the short code …

Visit this site to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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