How To Create A To Do List In WordPress

There never seems to be enough time to get everything done, especially if you are running a fast-paced business.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping 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 project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, track your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to members of your team 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.

Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to-do” list can help you monitor your progress as you work towards specific goals. Your to do list can be quite detailed and specific, or just serve as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Create Order

Having a to-do list helps you create order, keep things organized and reach goals faster.

Save Time

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

Reorganize And Reschedule Quickly

Having a to do list helps you better cope with unplanned situations. If an appointment suddenly gets cancelled or extra time has been made available when a task gets completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with no loss of focus.

Stress Relief

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much that needs doing and so little time to do it all in. Using a to-do list allows you to work on urgent tasks that have to get done within a reasonable timeframe, and push out non-urgent tasks that can be addressed at a later time. This can help reduce stress.

Better Delegation Of Work

To-do lists help you better delegate work to other people. This is also important when collaborating on a team-based project (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to-do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to do lists, prioritizing tasks and working in a systematic way increases efficiency and productivity in your business.

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

In this detailed tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add to do lists to a WordPress site to help your team get things done  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list WordPress 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 lets you easily add a to do list to a WordPress site.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can set up the plugin to have private to-do lists for individual users, 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 provides a number of settings. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes emailing new to do items to the assigned 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 display deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to help you manage your lists and the to-do list can also be displayed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to-do list items on your site. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is accessed through the back-end admin section.

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 download a copy of the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Plugin Installation

Log into your site’s admin scroll down the main menu select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s configure the plugin …

How To Set Up The Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen is divided into four sections:

• To-Do List Settings – This area lets you specify the main plugin settings.
• Advanced Settings – This section is where you can customize To-Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – This tab is where you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group 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

To-Do List 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 plugin menu …

This allows you to add categories that you can use to organize your to-do lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

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

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

List View

List View lets you choose how lists are viewed. There are three to do list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to be able to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled, you can display which of your members 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 displays completion dates for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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 displays in your WP Dashboard 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 (‘Yes’) to display content in your to-do lists 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 plugin author that helps to make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

To learn more about using this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Editorial Solution Plugin

After you have configured your plugin options, 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 users and carry out plugin database maintenance tasks.

Let’s go 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 …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates on your todo lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting 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 your labels for prioritizing highest, middle (normal) and low items …

high priority items display in red in the lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, the item’s ID 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 table of items …

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

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

The following settings can be configured in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

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

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the check box 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, WordPress automatically sends an email to users 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 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 show to-do categories in the email subject.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to display to-do 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, 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. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you want displayed as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users when new items have 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

This area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area without the need to access your web server …

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

The tasks below can be performed:

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

Actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are comfortable 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 do manual backups, then consider hiring a professional service, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Clone And Protect Your WordPress Websites And Blogs With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

This section lets you configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you select Individual List, the only setting that is applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you plan to configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and 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 make sure that you only permit non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit the selected 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 items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This enables the chosen capability to assign items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting allows 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 allows the selected capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This option allows the selected 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 copy over data from an existing list to another website, or export the data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Now you can easily export or import your list 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 in plain text format to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress admin menu and choosing Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, 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 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 previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

After your data file has been uploaded to your settings area, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

Your file will be imported.

After configuring all plugin settings, you can begin create and edit 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’ page …

Add New To-Do Items To Your List

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

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

You can also add new to-do items to your list in the Dashboard 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 contains many items, since the link is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

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

Select 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 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 multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to remove a user) …

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

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

Edit And Remove Items From Your List

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

Depending on how you have set up the plugin (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to do list, users can view it when logged into their own dashboard …

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

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

And gets listed 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 to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and display a list on content inside a post or page using short codes.

Using The 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 menu location where you want your to-do list to appear …

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

Your list will appear where the widget has been added (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Using Plugin Shortcodes

You can also add lists and checklists to your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.

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

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

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

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

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, create a new post or page and either type or paste the short code into the content section …

Publish your page or post and you will see the list displayed where you have added the shortcode …

To download this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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