How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

If you run a hectic business or manage a team, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much 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, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never stops.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with new content and things can quickly start to become unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks and responsibilities to other people effectively.

One proven method 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.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you measure your progress when trying to complete tasks. Your to do list can be very detailed or specific, or just serve as a reminder of tasks that need doing today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

To-Do Lists Help To Keep Things Organized

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

Better Strategic Planning

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you break down larger projects into doable tasks and come up with a strategy for getting tasks completed effectively.

Quickly Reschedule And Reorganize

To-do lists help you better handle events. If you find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time has been made available when some part of the project gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize or reschedule and continue moving forward with little to no disruption.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so little time to do it in. Using to do lists let you prioritize important things that have to be completed within the time you have available, and reschedule non-urgent tasks that can be worked on later. This can help you stress less.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Ticking items off a to do list gives you a feeling of accomplishment and allows you to relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is getting done and that things are moving forward.

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 towards completing the tasks you have listed and your business productivity and efficiency is sure to improve.

Let’s turn now to using a to do list on your website. More specifically, how to add a to-do list to WordPress.

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add a to do list to your WordPress site to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list plugin for WordPress 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 WordPress plugin provides users with a to-do list feature.

Features

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

You can configure 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 completion of items.

The shared to-do list has a variety of settings available. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to users) and optionally to have assigned items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. 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 admin backend to manage your lists and your to do lists can also appear on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode 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 site you can use the to-do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also own the Post Planner plugin.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WP admin and in the main menu choose Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s ‘Settings’ area by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s set up the plugin …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings area is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s now configure 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 will be added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This allows you to add categories that you can use to 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 allows you to specify how to-do lists are viewed. You can select three list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows users to share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create one master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to order list items.

If you choose Category, Alphabetical or ID, Category, ID or Alphabetical options, items will be first sorted 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 when ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If enabled, you can specify deadlines for to-do tasks …

Show Progress

If enabled, you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WordPress Dashboard 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 your to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a collaborative website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same plugin developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Go here to learn more about using this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner

After configuring your plugin options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

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

This screen lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform plugin 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’ tab lets you customize your To Do List …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates in your todo 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

Here you can customize your labels for highest, normal and lowest (low) priority items …

Items given the highest priority are shown in red in the lists and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, item IDs show up on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings

If you have chosen either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this area and assign items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this area:

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

If enabled, you can display tasks only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Contributor to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

If you don’t want to send out emails to users, then leave this option disabled.

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the remaining settings 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 categories displayed in the subject of your emails.

If you don’t want to-do categories to display the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if you have a number of project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

Use this field to customize the “From” field when sending out emails to users. Type your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you would like displayed 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 to users whenever new items have been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

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 area you can perform database maintenance tasks related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself …

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

You can perform the tasks below in this section:

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

Any actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want 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 data manually, then hire the services of a professional WordPress provider, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Copy And Protect Your WordPress Web Sites With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

If you are using Individual List, the only setting that is applicable for 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 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 make sure that you only permit non-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s review the settings for this tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit 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

Here you can permit the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This setting permits the selected 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

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may want to transfer data from an existing 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 section …

Now you can easily import or export 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 opens up a new window allowing you to download and save the data in plain text format to a storage device …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard menu and selecting 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 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 list data file, 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’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

After configuring all plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing your to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress dashboard, then go to the menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

How To 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 from your WP dashboard toolbar …

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

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

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

Set up the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate 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 tasks to users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …

You can also assign multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

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

Repeat this process to keep adding 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 next to items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your configuration plugin settings (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When a user assigned with completing an item ticks the item check box …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

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

Using The 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 want the list to display …

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

The list will appear where you have added 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:

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Short Codes

You can also create lists and checklists on your site with shortcodes.

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

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

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

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

Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, open up a new post or page and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content area …

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

Visit the plugin website to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

***

***