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 always seems to be in short supply.

There is just too much to do and remember. You have deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never stops.

Now … add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with regular content and things can start to feel unmanageable and out of control.

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

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

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

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

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

Stay Organized

Having to-do lists help you create order, stay organized and reach goals sooner.

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time. You can gain a better perspective on what’s truly important vs what isn’t, and what tasks should be done first.

Quickly Reschedule

Having a to-do list helps you better cope with new and unexpected situations. If you find that an appointment has been cancelled or extra time becomes available when some task gets completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with little to no disruption.

Accountability

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

Collaborating With Others

Using to do lists and other project management tools is essential for getting other people involved 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 adding to do lists to your website or blog?

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to add a to-do list to your WordPress website or blog to help your business grow  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 lets you easily add a to-do list to WordPress.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can set up the plugin to assign 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 provides different settings. You can assign to do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to users) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included in the front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to do list items on your site. There are two shortcodes for front-end list administration. Category management is restricted to 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 download the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Installing The Plugin

From your WP dashboard area, go to the menu and choose Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

Plugin Setup

The Settings area is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s now configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

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 gets added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

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

You can create ‘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 lists are viewed. You can select 3 to do list views:

• Individual – Choosing this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows users to share the same 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 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

If enabled, you can display which of your members has added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), completion dates will display 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 (‘Yes’), you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do list items.

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 that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Visit this site to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Multi-Author Publishing Plugin

After you have configured your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This screen lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and carry out plugin database maintenance tasks.

Let’s take you 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 …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates on your todo lists (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

Here you can customize your labels for prioritizing important, normal and lowest (low) items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option displays item IDs on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added shows on your table of items …

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

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

The following settings can be configured in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can 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 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 area Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned items. Leave the check box 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 (‘Yes’), WordPress will automatically send 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, 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-do categories displayed in the email subject.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, 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 emails to users. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you would like to display 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 sent automatically to users whenever new items have been added 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

In this section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area …

This is useful if, for example, you see that items you have previously deleted are still appearing on your site.

The tasks below can be performed:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want to perform database maintenance in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

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

• Backup, Duplicate & Protect Your WP Web Site With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

If you are using Individual List, the only permission applicable 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 would like users to be able to perform for each option …

By 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 non-administrator users should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Here is a description of the settings for the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

This setting permits 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 allow the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the selected capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting permits the chosen 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 chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This setting permits 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 want to copy over data from one website to another, or store your data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

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

Exporting To-Do List Data

You can export and download your list data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This opens up a window allowing you to view or download the data in plain text format to an internal or external 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 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 on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your storage medium…

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 previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

After configuring all plugin settings, you can begin create and edit your lists.

How To Use The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

To create a new to do list, go to your WordPress dashboard 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 a number of ways to add new to-do items.

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

You can also add new to-do items to your 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 already contains many items, since the link will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have configured the plugin settings, some options may not display when when you add new to-do items.

Configure the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter 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 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) …

After the item has been added, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

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

Editing And Deleting To Do 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 (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 dashboard …

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

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

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin page …

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your WordPress site using widgets, and add lists to content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Widgets

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 the list to appear …

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

The to-do list will now display wherever you have inserted the ‘to-do-list’ widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Using The Cleverness Plugin Short Codes

You can also add to-do lists and checklists to your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the admin menu …

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

Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ tab to access the Shortcode Documentation screen …

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

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

Publish your page or post and you should see the list showing in the location where you have inserted the short code …

For more details about this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can add to-do lists in WordPress.

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