How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

There is never enough time to get everything done, especially when you are running a hectic business.

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 extinguish, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never seems to stop.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and everything can quickly 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.

One proven method that can help you save time, alleviate stressful workloads, and allow you to regain control is to use a “to-do” list.

To Do Lists – Benefits

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

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

Stay Organized

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

Strategize

By creating and organizing a to do list, you can see the bigger picture and formulate a strategic plan for getting things completed on budget and on time.

Keep Work Logs

To-do lists let you keep documented logs of the work you have done. This can be used as evidence of work to clients or employers, or simply as a method of helping you measure your own productivity and efficiency.

Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and take over your productivity.

Sense Of Accomplishment

Crossing items off to do lists gives you a sense of accomplishment and allows you to stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that work is indeed being completed 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 systematically and efficiency and productivity in your business will surely increase.

What about adding a to do list to your WordPress website?

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to do lists to your WordPress site to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List 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 item completions.

The shared to-do list option has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to-do items to a specific user (this includes emailing new to-do items to users) and optionally to have assigned items only 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 included as well in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to help you manage your lists and your to-do lists are also 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 short codes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is accessed through 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 editors if you also install the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Installing The Plugin

Log into your WordPress admin area and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, 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 takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s configure the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

The Settings screen is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s now review 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: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item will be added to the To-Do List 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 are not visible when using the sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

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

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using 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 to sort 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 members on your site have added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays completion dates 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

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

If enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to 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 list items.

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 developer to help make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

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

After you have finished configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

This tab lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform database maintenance tasks.

Let’s step 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 …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

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

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize the labels for highest (important), middle (normal) and lowest (low) priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) shows the item’s ID on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display the date your table of items 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 items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option 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 (‘Yes’) to display items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section (Administrator displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then don’t tick its check box.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If 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 you disable this option, skip the 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

If you don’t want to show to-do categories in the email subject, then leave this option disabled.

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 a number of project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

This field allows you to customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications. You can enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, add a subject field for the email that will be sent out 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

In this area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself without having to log into your web server …

This is useful if, for example, you see that old to-do items are still listed on your site.

You can perform the following tasks:

• 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 your 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 remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data manually, then consider using professional help services, or use backup plugins. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform complete WordPress file and data backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate & Keep Your WordPress Web Site Protected With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you choose Individual List, the only configurable 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 be able to perform for each option …

By default, general capabilities for each user role are configured as follows:

• Subscribers: Read
• Contributors: Edit Posts
• Authors: Publish Posts
• Editors: Edit Others Posts
• Administrators: Manage Options

Note: When using the Master list type non-administrators should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s now review the settings in this section:

View To-Do List

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This enables the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This allows the selected capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Import/Export

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

Here you can export and import your data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

To export and download your to-do list data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This will open up a new window allowing you to download and save your data in plain text format to a storage device …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard menu and choosing 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 selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to an internal or external 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 previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to start creating and editing to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress dashboard, then go to 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 several ways to add new to-do items to your list.

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

You can also add new items to your to-do list using the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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, since the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

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

Configure 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 new item to your list …

Note: If you have chosen a list type that allows you to assign tasks to specific 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 users) …

After After adding a 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 to-do 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 items 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 email notifications …

After creating your to do list, users can view it from their WordPress user dashboard …

When the user assigned with an item completes the task and ticks the item check box …

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

And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your website using widgets, and insert lists into any page or post using short codes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List 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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you want your list to show …

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

The list will display wherever the widget has been added (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Shortcodes

You can also display to-do lists 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 dashboard menu …

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

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

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

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

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

Visit this site for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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