Creating To Do Lists In WordPress

If you plan to run a fast-paced business or manage a team, time always seems to be in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, projects to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

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

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

A ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to regain control is to use a “to-do” list.

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to do” list helps you keep track of your progress as you work to achieve your goals. Your to do list can be very detailed or specific, or act as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Organization

A to do list helps you create order, stay organized and reach goals sooner.

Strategize

By creating and organizing a to do list, you can see the bigger picture and formulate a strategic plan for getting everything done effectively.

Quickly Reschedule

To-do lists help you better handle events. If you find that an appointment has been cancelled or extra time becomes available because a task got completed sooner than expected, you can keep moving forward with minimal loss of focus.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much that needs doing and very little time to do it all in. Creating to-do lists allow you to work on urgent things that have to get done immediately, and reschedule tasks that can be addressed at a later time. This can help reduce stress.

Better Delegation

A to-do list helps you better assign tasks to others. This is also important if you plan to collaborate on a team-based project (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 increase.

What about adding a to-do list to your WordPress website or blog?

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add a to-do list to your WP website or blog to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to do list 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/

Description

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

Plugin Features

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

You can set up the plugin to assign 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 a specific user (this includes a setting to email new to do items to the user) and optionally to have those items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available to show 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 lists and the to-do lists are also displayed on the dashboard widget.

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

If you plan to set up a multi-author blog you can use this plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also install a copy of the Post Planner plugin from the same developer.

Plugin Installation

From your WordPress admin area, click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

The section below shows you how to set up the plugin …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen is divided into 4 tabs:

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

Let’s review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

List View

List View lets you specify how to-do lists are viewed. You can choose three to do list views:

Individual – Use this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
Group – Use this option if you want all users to share the same to-do list.
Master – This option allows you to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which users on your site have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for your to-do items.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you will be able to specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can 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 Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If enabled, 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 your to-do list items using paragraphs.

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 plugin developer that helps to make the process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

To learn more this handy plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner

After you have configured your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

In this section you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and carry out 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 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 to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize the labels for important, normal and lowest priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays item IDs on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) shows the date the To-Do Items table was added …

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 …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to 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

Enable this option to display to-do items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned 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

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress will automatically send 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 you disable this option, 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to show categories in the subject of your emails.

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 site 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 email notifications. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you want to display as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users whenever a new item has been assigned in 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 section you can carry out database maintenance tasks related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself without the need to access your web server …

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

The following tasks can be performed:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to carry out database operations in this section, then remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then get assistance from a WordPress professional, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress backups here:

Backup, Duplicate 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 configurable item that applies in 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 want users to perform 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 using the Master list type make sure that you only permit non-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

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

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

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This enables the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can enable 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

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to purge all the completed 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 decide to copy over data from one site to another, or export your data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

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

Exporting To-Do List Data

You can export and download your data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This opens up a window allowing you to view or save your data as plain text to an internal or external storage medium …

As well as exporting 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 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 on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download 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 …

Locate the file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can begin create and edit your to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

This brings up the ‘To-Do List’ page …

Add New To Do Items To Your List

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

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

You can also add new to-do items from the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section by clicking on the ‘Add To-Do item’ link …

You can also 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 send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the page) …

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

Depending on how you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add 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 have chosen a list type that lets you assign items to specific 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 After adding a new item, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding items to your list …

Edit And Remove 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 settings (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

After creating your to do list, users can view the list from their own WordPress dashboard …

When the user assigned with completing an item ticks the item checkbox …

… the item is then deleted from the “To-Do” list …

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and display lists on any page or post using short codes.

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 want your to-do list to display …

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

Your to-do list will display wherever the widget was added (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

To learn more about using widgets in WordPress, see the tutorial below:

Using WordPress Widget

Plugin Short Codes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you create to-do lists on your site with shortcodes.

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

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

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

This section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists and checklists on your posts and pages.

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

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

Go here for more details about this plugin:

Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add to-do lists in WordPress.

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