Creating To-Do Lists In WordPress

If you plan to run a growing business or manage any kind of project that requires people to work as a group, time always seems to be in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never stops.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with fresh content and everything suddenly begins to feel unmanageable and out of control.

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

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

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list can help to keep you on track and monitor your progress as you to get projects completed. Your to do list can be very detailed and very specific, or act as a concise reminder of the things that need to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Free Your Brain

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

Save Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time. You can gain a clearer perspective on what’s more important vs what isn’t, and what steps need to be completed first.

Reschedule Quickly

Having a to-do list helps you better deal with changes in circumstances. If an appointment suddenly gets cancelled or extra time is made available because some task was completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reschedule or reorganize and keep working with minimal loss of focus.

Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability lets excuses creep in and take over your productivity.

Working 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. Creating a to do list, prioritizing tasks and working in a focused manner improves productivity and efficiency in your business.

What about using to-do lists on your website?

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

Cleverness To Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Plugin Description

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

Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To-Do List to have 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 has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to assigned users) and optionally to have those items be 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 included as well in the 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 be displayed on the dashboard widget.

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

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

Installing The Plugin

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

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The ‘Settings’ screen can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

Setting Up The Plugin

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

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

Let’s review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize lists 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 can help organize 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 are not visible using the sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how your to-do lists will be viewed. There are three to-do list views you can choose:

• Individual – Selecting this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to be able to 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 using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how your to-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which of your users has added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled, you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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 your to-do list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author site or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Visit this site to learn more this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Multi-Author Publishing Plugin For WordPress

After you are done configuring your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This screen lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and carry out database maintenance.

Let’s step through how to configure the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Customize The To-Do List

Here you can customize your To-Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

In this area you can specify how to display dates on your to-do list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

Items prioritized as “important” display in red in the lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, the items’ IDs show on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled, the date the to-do list was added will display on the table of items …

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 section and assign items to other users …

The following settings can be configured in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

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

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Author to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then don’t tick its check box.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, 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 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 display categories in the email subject.

If you don’t want to show categories in the email subject, then leave this option disabled.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option lets you display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if you have 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. Add 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

In this field, enter a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent to users whenever a new item has been assigned to 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 area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area …

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

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

Any actions that you perform on the database 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 remember to backup your database first.

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

• Back Up, Clone And Keep Your WP Website Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

If you select Individual List, the only configurable 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 would like users to have access to for each option …

The default general capabilities for each user role are 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 be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s now review the settings in this section:

View To-Do List

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This permits the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This allows the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may need to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or store the data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Here you can easily export and import your to-do list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

To export and download your data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This will open up a new window allowing you to view or download the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to an internal or external hard drive …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your dashboard 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 – pages, posts, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click on the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to an internal or external hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a previously saved to-do list data file, click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Select the previously saved to-do list data file and click ‘Open’ …

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

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 start creating and editing your to-do 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 up the ‘To-Do List’ screen …

Adding A New Item 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 admin bar …

You can also add new to-do items inside your Dashboard 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 already contains many items, since the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

All the methods shown above will take 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 items to your to-do list.

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

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 delete users) …

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

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

Edit And Delete To-Do Items

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

Depending on your plugin configuration plugin settings (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

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

When users assigned with an item complete the task and click on the item check box …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

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

Plugin Widget

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 list to appear …

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

Your to-do list will appear wherever you have placed the ‘to-do-list’ widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use s

Plugin Shortcodes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you create to-do lists to your site using short codes.

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

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

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

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

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 shortcode inside the content section …

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

Visit the plugin website here for more details about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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