How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

If you run a hectic business, 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, 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 maintaining your website updated with fresh content and things can start to become unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, you need to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.

A simple proven method that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to take control is to use “to do” lists.

Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to do” list helps you monitor your progress when trying to complete tasks. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and specific, or act as a reminder of tasks that need to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Free Your Brain

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

Better Manage Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can develop a clearer perspective on what’s truly urgent vs what is not, and what steps should be done first.

Quickly Reorganize Or Reschedule

Having a to-do list helps you better cope with situations. If an appointment gets cancelled or extra time is made available because a task was completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with little to minimal loss of focus.

Eliminate Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many things that needs to get done and so very little time to do it all in. Using a to do list allows you to work on important things that need to get done immediately, and reschedule non-urgent items that can be addressed at a later time. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Ticking items off to do lists not only helps you feel more positive, motivated and in-control, it also lets you relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the workload is getting done and that progress is being made.

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 systematically and your business efficiency and productivity will improve.

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

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to add to do lists to your WP website or blog to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to do list plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin Download URL

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

Description

This WordPress plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Plugin Features

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

You can configure 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 offers different settings. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email new to-do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items be seen 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 admin backend to manage your list and the to-do list can also be displayed on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to do list items on your blog. There are 2 short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessible via the back-end.

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

Log into your WP dashboard section, scroll down the menu select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the ‘Settings’ screen by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

How To Set Up The Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

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

Note: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item is added to the To-Do List 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 to-do lists.

Categories marked ‘private’ will not be visible using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how lists will be viewed. You can select three list views:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option lets users share the same to-do list.
• Master – Select this option to create one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using 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 to-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which members on your site have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP 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

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, developed by the same author that helps to make the process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

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

Once you have finished configuring your options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

Once you have configured the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab …

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

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

Let’s take you 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 …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Date Format

Here you can specify how to display dates on your todo list (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

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

Highest (important) priority items display in red and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the items’ IDs will show on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date the to-do list was added shows on the To-Do Items table …

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 area and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option to 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 to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

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

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to send out emails to users.

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip other 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 on the subject of your emails …

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

If you don’t want to show categories in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option displays the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if you have 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. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

In this field, type the email address that you want displayed as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type into this field a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent to users when new items have been added to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, enter 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 lets you perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area without the need to log into your web server …

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

The following tasks can be performed in this section:

• Delete Tables – Delete any custom database tables that you no longer use.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all of your 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 carry out database operations in this section, then we recommend backing up your WP database first.

If you don’t want to perform manual backups, then consider getting help from a WordPress professional, or use backup plugins. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress file and database backups here:

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

User Permissions

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

If you are using the Individual List type, the only item applicable in this section is the View To-Do List option …

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 …

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 non-admin users should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Below is a description of the settings in the User Permissions section:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow 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

Here you can allow the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

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 selected capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option 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 allow the chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option permits the chosen 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 very useful. For example, you may need to transfer data from one website to another, or store your 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 easily export and import 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 will open up a new window allowing you to view or save the data in plain text format to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard menu and selecting Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress 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 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 …

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

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

Your file data will be imported.

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing to-do lists.

How To Use The Plugin

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

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

How To Add New Items To Your List

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

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

You can also add new to-do items 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 already contains many items, as the link will simply 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 how 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, enter appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the to-do item …

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 the new item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to add new items to your list …

Editing And Deleting To Do Items From Your List

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (see 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 when logged into their dashboard …

When users assigned with completing an item click on the item check box …

… the item is removed from the “To-Do” list …

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress site using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a post or page using shortcodes.

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 (or footer) menu where you want the list to show …

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

The to-do list will now display where you have placed the 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

Using Plugin Short Codes

You can also add lists and checklists on your site using short codes.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, click on 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’ tab to access the Shortcode Documentation …

The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists on your posts and pages.

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

Publish your page or post and you should see the list displayed in the location where you entered the short code …

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

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists to your WordPress site or blog.

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