How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

Time is always in short supply, especially if you are a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team.

There is just too much to do and remember. You have clients to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and things can start feeling unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, assign responsibilities to team members efficiently.

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

The Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to-do” list helps you keep track of your progress when working towards a certain objective. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or just serve as a reminder of tasks that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Create Order

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

Better Manage Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time better. You can develop a clearer perspective on what’s more urgent vs what’s not, and what steps have to be completed first.

Quickly Reschedule

A to-do list lets you better handle situations. If you find that an appointment gets cancelled or extra time has been made available because a task was completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reschedule and keep moving forward with minimal loss of focus.

Accountability

With no accountability there’s no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and impact your productivity.

Collaborate Better With Others

Using to do lists and other project management tools is essential for working 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. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work towards completing the tasks on your list and your business productivity and efficiency is sure to increase.

Let’s turn now to using to do lists on your website or blog. More specifically, adding to-do lists to WordPress.

In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn 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 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 listed below will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.

You can configure the plugin to assign private to do lists for each user, to have all users share a to do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to-do list option provides a number of settings. You can assign to do items to a specific user (this includes emailing a new to do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items be viewable 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 admin backend to help you manage your list and your to do list can also be displayed on the dashboard widget.

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

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 developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Plugin Installation

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

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

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List item in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s settings section by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …

The section below shows you how to go through the plugin setup process …

How To Configure The Plugin

The Settings area is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s now go through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do list 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 can help organize your to-do lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can create ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

Private categories are not visible using sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how your lists are viewed. You can choose from three kinds of list views:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Use this option if you want all users to be able to share the same 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 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 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 (‘Yes’) lets you display which users have 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 (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled, you will be able to 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 WordPress Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option to display content in your to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author 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 about using this handy plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner

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

This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

This section lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform plugin 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

In this section 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 on your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

Items prioritized as “important” are colour-coded in red and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs show on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled (‘Yes’), 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 selected either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the settings in this section and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this area:

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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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

Checking the boxes in this section Editor displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you don’t want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

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

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 display to-do categories in the email subject.

If you don’t want to-do categories to appear the email subject, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

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 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

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

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users whenever 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 area lets you perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area without the need to access your server …

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

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to perform database operations in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data manually, then use a professional, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress file and data backups here:

• Back Up, Copy & Keep Your WP Websites Protected With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

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

If you are configuring user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities of 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 make sure that you only allow non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

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

View To-Do List

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This permits the chosen capability to delegate 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

Here you can permit the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may decide to transfer data from an existing list to another website, or export your data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can import and export 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 window allowing you to download and save the data in plain text format to a storage device …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress main 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 – posts, pages, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your 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 file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you can start creating and editing to do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

Add New To Do Items

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

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

You can also add new to-do items to your list 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 contains many items, as the link will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the screen) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when adding new to-do items.

Set up 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 new to-do item …

Note: If you have chosen a list type that lets you assign items 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 the new item, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat the above process to keep 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 your configuration plugin settings (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to do list, users can view the list when logged into their own dashboard …

When users assigned with the item complete the task and click on the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and add lists to content inside a post or page using short codes.

Using The Cleverness 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 to-do list to show …

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

The to-do list will display wherever the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been added (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

You can also display to-do lists and checklists to your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.

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

Click on 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 short codes for displaying lists on your posts and pages.

Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, create a new page or post and either type or paste the short code inside the content editor …

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

For more details about this plugin, visit the plugin website:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

***

***