How To Create A To Do List In WordPress

If you are running a hectic business, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much to do and remember. You have deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never stops.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website updated with regular content and things can quickly start to become unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, you need to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.

A ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to take control is to use “to-do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to-do” list helps you keep track of your progress when trying to complete tasks. Your to do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or just serve as a reminder of tasks that need to be done over a given period of time.

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

Organization

Having to do lists help you create order, stay organized and achieve your goals faster.

Prioritize Your Time

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

Keep Work Logs

A to do list allows you to keep documented logs of what has been done. You can use this as evidence of work done to employers or clients, or simply as a means of helping you track your own productivity and efficiency.

Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and take over your productivity.

Feeling 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 getting done and that progress is being made.

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 towards completing the tasks you have listed and efficiency and productivity in your business is sure to increase.

What about using to do lists on your WordPress website or blog?

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to do lists to a WordPress website or blog 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 Plugin

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

Plugin Description

This plugin lets you easily add a to-do list to a WordPress site.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin 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 with 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 item completions.

The shared to-do list has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email new to do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items be seen 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 also included as front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode 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 set up a multi-author site you can use the to-do lists plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post editors if you also download the Post Planner plugin.

How To Install The Plugin

Log into your site’s 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 entry in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s settings section can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ section …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Configuring The Plugin

The Settings area is divided into 4 tabs:

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

Let’s now review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘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 is added to the To-Do List menu …

This allows you to 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.

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

List View

List View lets you specify how your to-do lists will be viewed. There are 3 list views:

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option lets users share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using 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-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which users on your site have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

If this option is enabled, you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu 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 are running 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 provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more about this handy plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Multi-Author Publishing Plugin For WordPress

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

Advanced Settings

Once you have configured the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

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

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

In this area you can specify how to display dates in your todo lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, see 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 (important), normal and lowest items …

Items given the highest priority display in red and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs appear on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date your 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 either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this section and assign 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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display tasks only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area (Administrator to display the type of users that can be assigned todo 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

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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 the other settings 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

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

If enabled, you can display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if you have various 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. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, type a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users whenever new items have been added 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 you can carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area itself …

This function is useful if, for example, you see that old todo items are still displaying 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 of your to-do items.

Any actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to carry out database operations in this section, then we recommend backing up your WP database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files yourself, then consider getting professional assistance, or use WordPress backup plugins. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your file and database backups here:

• Back Up, Clone & Protect Your WP Websites With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

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

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities of each user role are set 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-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s review the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

This setting enables 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 items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This permits 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 enable the chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This setting allows 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 an existing to-do list to another website, or store your list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Use this section to easily export and import your data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a window allowing you to view or save the data as plain text to a storage medium …

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

Locate the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can start creating and editing your lists.

Plugin Usage

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

This brings you to the ‘To-Do List’ page …

Adding New Items To Your List

There are several ways to add new to-do items.

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

You can also add new to-do items in your Dashboard 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, as 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’ 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 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 are using a list type that lets you assign responsibilities over items to specific 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 remove a user) …

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

Repeat this process to continue adding items to your to-do list …

Edit And Delete Items

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 earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When users assigned with completing an item click on the item checkbox …

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

And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the ’To-Do List’ screen …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and display lists on content inside a post or page using shortcodes.

Using The Plugin Widget

To add to-do lists to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ page (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the menu location where you would like the list to show …

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

Your to-do list will appear wherever you have inserted the widget (e.g. 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

Plugin Shortcodes

You can also add to-do lists and checklists to your site with shortcodes.

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 screen …

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

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

Publish your page or post and you should see the list showing in the location where you added 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 to-do lists to your WordPress site.

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