How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

There is never enough time to get things done, especially when you are running a growing business or managing a team.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, commitments 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 trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and things suddently begin to feel 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 daily activities.

One simple proven tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to-do” list.

The Benefits Of Using To Do Lists

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

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

Free Your Brain

Writing to-do lists means you don’t have to memorize things or clutter your mind with details. Once tasks are written down on a to-do list, your mind is free to process other information and you can focus on things that are more important to you.

Better Strategic Planning

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you break down your workload into doable tasks and come up with a strategic plan to get things done on budget and on time.

Keep Documented Work Logs

To-do lists allow you to keep documented logs of what has been done. This can be used as evidence of work to clients or employers, or simply as a way of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

With no accountability there is 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.

Improved Collaboration

Creating to do lists and other project management tools is essential for working with others on some of your larger or more complex projects.

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

Let’s turn now to using a to-do list on your website or blog. More specifically, how to add to do lists to WordPress.

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

Cleverness To-Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin URL

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

Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Plugin Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List 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 has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. 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 list and your to do list can also be displayed on a dashboard widget.

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

If you plan to run a multi-author blog you can use the to do lists plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post editors if you also install the Post Planner plugin for WordPress.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WP administration area and select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s settings area can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s configure the plugin …

How To Set Up The Plugin

The Settings area is divided into 4 tabs:

• To-Do List Settings – The options in this section let you specify the plugin’s main settings.
• Advanced Settings – In this area you can customize To Do lists, assign tasks to other users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – In this area you can set up 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 now go through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

Private categories will not be visible when using the sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

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

• Individual – Choosing this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Use this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create one 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-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you 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 to-do items.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for 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 will display in your WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled, you can 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 collaborative website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same plugin developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

For more details about this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner

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

Advanced Settings

After you have configured the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab …

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This area lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to users and perform plugin 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’ tab 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 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, refer to the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for prioritizing highest, normal and lowest (low) items …

Items prioritized as “important” are shown in red in your lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, the item’s ID appear on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) shows the date the table of items was added …

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 area 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 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 tasks only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Author displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you don’t want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

If you don’t want to send out emails to users, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

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

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

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option lets you display 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 lets you customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications to users. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users whenever a new item has been added to 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

In this area you can carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself without the need to access your web server …

This function is useful if, for example, you see that old todo items are still showing on your site.

You can perform the tasks below:

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

Any database operations carried out 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 we recommend backing up your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files manually, then consider using professional WordPress help services, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Copy And Protect Your WP Web Sites With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you have chosen the Individual List type, the only item that applies in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to configure 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 …

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 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 now review the settings for this tab:

View To-Do List

This setting allows 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

This permits the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting permits 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 setting enables the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This enables the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can allow 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 need to copy over data from one site to another, or store your data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Now you can easily export or import your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a window allowing you to download and save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress main 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 download your file to an internal or external hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a list data file, click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Locate the previously saved to-do list data file and click ‘Open’ …

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

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

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you are ready to begin creating and editing to do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

There are several 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 dashboard bar …

You can also add a new item to your to-do list inside 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 send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add 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 allows you to assign tasks 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 delete a user) …

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

Repeat this process to continue 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 each item under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your configuration plugin settings (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to-do list, users can view it from their own dashboard …

When users responsible for completing an item click on the item check box …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your website using widgets, and display lists on any post or page using shortcodes.

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 would like your to-do list to show …

Configure the widget settings and click the ‘Save’ button …

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

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

• How To Use s

Using Plugin Short Codes

You can also add lists on your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

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

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

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

This section explains different ways to configure and use short codes to display lists and checklists on your content.

Once you know what type of information you want to add to 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 exactly where you added the short code …

Visit the plugin website to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add a to-do list to your WordPress site.

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