How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

There are never enough hours in the day to get things done, especially if you are a business owner.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never stops.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with fresh content and things can start to feel unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, it’s important to be able to organize and manage your day.

A simple “tried and true” tool that can help you save time, alleviate stressful workloads, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to-do” lists.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help to keep you on track and monitor your progress as you complete tasks. Your to do list can be very detailed and specific, or act as a concise reminder of tasks that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Free Your Brain

Writing a to do list means you don’t have to memorize stuff or clutter your brain with details. Once tasks are recorded on a to do list, your mind is free to process information and you can focus on more important things.

Strategize

After creating and organizing a to-do list, you can break down your workload into more doable tasks and create a strategy to get tasks done on budget and on time.

Quickly Reorganize And Reschedule

A to do list helps you better deal with changes in circumstances. If you find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time is made available because some part of the project was completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize or reschedule and keep working with no 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 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 is sure to increase.

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

In this detailed tutorial we are going to show you how to add a to do list to WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little plugin for WordPress called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Description

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

Features

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

You can set up the plugin to have 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 has a variety of settings available. You can assign to do items to specific users (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 based on user roles. There are also settings to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are two shortcodes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end.

If you plan to run a multi-author site you can use the to-do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also own the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

How To Install The Plugin

Log into your site’s dashboard area, and select Plugins > Add New …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ section …

Let’s configure the plugin …

Setting Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s 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 gets added to the To-Do List menu …

This lets you 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.

Categories set to ‘private’ are not visible using the sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how to-do lists are viewed. There are three list views you can select:

• Individual – Selecting this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets users 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 items to complete. If you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 (‘Yes’) displays completion dates for to-do items.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

If enabled, you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

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

To learn more this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Multi-Author Publishing Plugin

After configuring your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

In this tab you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and perform plugin database maintenance.

Let’s go 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 options in this section:

Date Format

In this section you can specify how to display dates on your todo 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

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

Items given the highest (important) priority display in red in your lists and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will show item IDs on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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 to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to assign to-do items 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. Leaving this option disabled will 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 to-do 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

When this option is enabled, WordPress will automatically send an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

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

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 categories to appear the email subject.

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

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 several 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 emails. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you want to display 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 whenever a new item has been assigned in 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 allows you to perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area …

This is useful if, for example, you notice that todo items you have already deleted are still showing on your site.

The tasks below can be performed:

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

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

If you don’t want to do site backups, then get professional WordPress assistance services, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Backup, Duplicate And Protect Your WP Sites With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

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 permission that applies in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to have access to for each option …

The 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 using the Master list type make sure that you only allow 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 tab:

View To-Do List

This setting allows 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 to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This allows 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 allow the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This enables the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

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

Now you can easily import or export your list 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 your data as plain text to a storage device …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard 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 – pages, posts, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to a storage device…

Importing To-Do List Data

Importing a previously saved to-do list data file is easy. Just click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Select the file and click ‘Open’ …

After uploading your data file, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can start creating and editing your to-do lists.

How To Use The Plugin

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 …

Adding New To Do Items

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

For example, you can add new items to your to-do list from your WP dashboard bar …

You can also add new items to your to-do list inside your 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, as the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have configured your plugin’s settings, 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have selected a list type that lets you assign tasks 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 an item, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat this process to continue adding 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 associated with items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your configuration settings (discussed in the 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 the list inside their own dashboard …

When the user assigned with completing an item clicks on the item check box …

… the item disappears from the “To-Do” list …

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your website using widgets, and display a list on any page or post using short codes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List 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 menu where you want your to-do list to show …

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

Your to-do list will now display on your site where you have inserted the widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Plugin Shortcodes

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin also lets you display to-do lists and checklists to your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

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

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

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

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

Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the shortcode into the content area …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed where you have added the shortcode …

Visit the plugin website to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add a to-do list to your WordPress site or blog.

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