How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

If you are a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team, time is always in short supply.

There is just too much to do and remember. You have clients to meet, urgent tasks 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 … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with regular content and things can start to become unmanageable and out of control.

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

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

Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to-do” list can help to keep you on track and measure your progress as you work to achieve a certain objective. Your to do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or just serve 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:

Stay Organized

To-do lists help you create order, stay organized and achieve goals sooner.

Be More Strategic

By creating and organizing your to do list, you can view the larger picture and come up with a strategy to get things done on budget and on time.

Log Your Work

A to-do list lets you keep documented logs of the work you have done. You can use this to provide evidence of work done to employers or clients, or simply as a method of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Stress Less

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so very little time to do it all in. Creating to do lists allow you to prioritize important tasks that need to get done immediately, and reschedule non-urgent items that can be worked on at a later time. This can help you stress less.

Sense Of Accomplishment

Crossing items off to do lists not only helps you feel more productive, motivated and in-control, it also lets you relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is being completed and that milestones are being reached.

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

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

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to add to-do lists to a WordPress site 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

Download The Cleverness To-Do List 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 described below are discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.

You can set up the plugin with private to-do lists for individual users, 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 includes different settings. You can delegate to do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to the user) and optionally to have assigned items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your lists and the to do lists can also be 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 short codes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end admin section.

If you plan to set up a multi-author site you can use this to do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also use a copy of the Post Planner plugin for WordPress.

Installing The Plugin

Log into your WP admin scroll down the main menu choose Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ area is divided into 4 tabs:

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

Let’s go through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item is added to the To-Do List menu …

This lets you add categories to your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can set up ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your to-do lists.

Private categories are not visible using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how your lists are viewed. You can choose from three kinds of to do list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option allows users to share one 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 you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which of your members has 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 your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

Enabling this option 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

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 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, from the same developer to help make the task of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

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

After you have configured your options, 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 plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

This area lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and carry out 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

In this area you can customize your To Do List …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

Here you can specify how to display dates on your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this area you can customize the labels for highest (important), middle and lowest priority items …

Items given the highest (important) priority are color-coded 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 display on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled (‘Yes’), the date the to-do list was added shows up on the To-Do Items table …

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

If you have chosen either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the settings in this area and assign to-do items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this area:

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 (‘Yes’) to display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled will display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Editor displays the type of users that can be assigned todo 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

When you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to send out emails to users.

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

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

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

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 multiple project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

This field lets you customize the “From” field when sending out email notices. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you want showing 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 distributed automatically to users whenever new items have been assigned in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type into this field 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 related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself …

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

You can perform the following tasks:

• Delete Tables – Remove custom database tables that you are no longer using.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all of your 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 site manually, then get professional WordPress assistance services, or use backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform automated WordPress file and database backups here:

• Back Up, Clone And Protect Your WP Sites With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

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

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

By default, general capabilities of 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 authorize 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 tab:

View To-Do List

This setting enables the chosen 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 permit the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This permits the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to assign 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

This option enables the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can allow 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 need to transfer data from an existing list to another website, or export the list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Now you can 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 new window allowing you to view or save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to an internal or external drive …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your admin 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 on the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your storage device…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a 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 in your settings area, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

Your file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can begin create and edit to-do lists.

How To Use The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Adding New To Do Items To Your List

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

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

You can also add a new item to your to-do list using 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) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have chosen a list type that allows you to assign responsibilities over items to 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 remove a user) …

Once After adding a new item, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat the above process to add new items to your to-do list …

Edit And Delete Items

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 (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to-do list, users can view the list when logged into their own dashboard …

When users responsible for the item complete the task and tick the item check box …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin offers added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and insert a list into any page or post using short codes.

Using The Cleverness Plugin Widget

To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ page (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you want your to-do list to show …

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

Your to-do list will appear where you have placed the widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

You can also create lists to your site using shortcodes.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, 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 to access the Shortcode Documentation screen …

This section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists on your content.

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 into the content editor …

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

Visit the plugin website here to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add a to-do list in WordPress.

***

***