Creating A To-Do List In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you are running a growing business.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never ends.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with regular content and everything can start becoming unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, track your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks to members of your team or staff effectively.

One proven tool that can help you save time, alleviate stress, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to-do” list helps you measure your progress as you work to get tasks completed. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of tasks that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Free Your Brain

Writing to-do lists means you won’t have to keep remembering stuff or store unnecessary information inside your head. Once things are recorded on a to-do list, your head is free to process information and you can focus on things that are more important to you.

Strategize

By creating and organizing a to-do list, you can break your workload into doable tasks and create a strategic plan for getting tasks completed on budget and on time.

Keep Documented Work Logs

A to-do list allows you to keep documented logs of what has been done. You can use this as evidence of work to employers or clients, or simply as a way of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Accountability

Without accountability there’s no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability lets excuses creep in and take over your work day.

Better Delegation Of Work

A to-do list helps you delegate work to others 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 to-do lists, 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 improve.

What about adding to do lists to your WordPress website or blog?

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add a to-do list to WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Download The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

Plugin Description

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

Features

Note: the features listed below are 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 option includes a number of different settings. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email a new to-do item to assigned users) and optionally to have assigned items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. 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 the to do lists can also display on a 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 list administration. Management of categories is accessible through the back-end.

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

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

In your WordPress admin, click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The settings section can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

Setting Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s take you through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do list 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 allows you to add categories to your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can set up ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your to-do 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 choose how to-do lists are viewed. You can select 3 kinds of to do list views:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets users share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create 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 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 to-do list items.

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

Show Added By

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

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for your to-do items.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can 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 WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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 to display content in to-do list items 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, from the same developer that helps to make the process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

To learn more this plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

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

Advanced Settings

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

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

This section lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and perform database maintenance tasks.

Let’s take you 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 how to format dates in WordPress, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this section you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest (important), normal and low items …

Items given the highest (important) priority display in red and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will show the item’s ID on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date the to-do list was added will show on the items table …

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 area and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Editor displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do 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, WordPress will automatically send an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

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

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to-do categories to appear the subject of your emails.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If enabled, you can display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, you have 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 email notices. Enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Type into this field 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 distributed automatically to users when new items have been assigned in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type in 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 tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself …

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

You can perform the tasks below:

• 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 performed from this screen cannot be reversed. 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 getting professional WordPress support, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Copy And Protect Your WordPress Websites With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

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

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 have access to for each option …

The default general capabilities of 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 authorize non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s now review the settings for the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit 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

This option permits the chosen capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This permits 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

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option enables the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This option enables the selected 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 need to transfer data from an existing list to another website, or export the data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Use this section to export and import your 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 download and save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium …

In addition to exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your 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 – posts, pages, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to an internal or external 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’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

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

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

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

Adding A New Item To Your To Do List

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

For example, you can add a new item to your to-do list from your WP admin toolbar …

You can also add new to-do items to your 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 is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

Depending on how 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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign responsibilities over items to specific 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 remove a user) …

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

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

Editing And Removing Items From Your List

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 set up the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to-do list, users can view the list from their WordPress 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 added to the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and display lists on content inside a post or page 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 menu location where you would like your to-do list to appear …

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

The list will appear where the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been 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

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Short Codes

You can also add to-do lists and checklists on your site using shortcodes.

To access the documentation on using short codes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from the dashboard menu …

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists on your content.

Once you know what type of information you want to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing page or post and either type or paste the short code inside the content editor …

After publishing your post or page, you will see the list displayed exactly where you entered the shortcode …

Visit the plugin website to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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