How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

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

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with fresh content and everything can start feeling unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, track your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to team members effectively.

One proven method that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to take control is to use a “to-do” list.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list can help you measure your progress when working towards certain objectives. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free The Brain

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

Time Prioritization

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can develop a clearer perspective on what’s more urgent vs what’s not, and what tasks have to be completed first.

Keep Work Logs

A to-do list lets you retain documented logs of the work you have done. You can use this as evidence of work to clients or employers, or just as a means of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and influence your productivity.

Delegate Better

Having to do lists help you delegate work to other people better. This is also important when collaborating with others (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a systematic way and your business efficiency and productivity will surely increase.

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

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to add a to-do list to WordPress 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 Plugin

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

Plugin Description

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

Plugin Features

Note: the plugin features listed 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 completion of items.

The shared to do list offers different settings. You can delegate to do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email new to-do items to users) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable 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 help you manage your lists and the to do lists can also appear on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to do list items on your site. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is restricted to the back-end.

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

From your site’s admin area, choose Plugins > Add New …

In the Install Plugins section, type in “cleverness” into the search field and click the Enter button on your keyboard …

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List entry in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

When 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 dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

The section below shows you how to configure the plugin …

Plugin Setup

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

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

Let’s review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do list into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

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

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

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

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

List View

List View lets you choose how your lists will be viewed. You can select three list views:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option lets users share the same to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you adjust 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 Alphabetical, ID or Category, ID, Category or Alphabetical options, items will be first sorted by priority.

Show Added By

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

Show Deadline

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

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’) lets you display the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP 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 lists using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a collaborative site 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 …

Go here to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Editorial Solution Plugin For WordPress

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

Advanced Settings

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

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

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

Here you can 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 on 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

In this area you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest, middle and lowest items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays item IDs on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date your to-do list was added will display on the 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 area and assign items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Editor to display the type of users that can be assigned todo 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, WordPress will automatically send an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

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

Note: If you disable this option, 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to-do categories to show 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 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 email notifications. Enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Enter a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users when a new item has 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 area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area …

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

The tasks below can be performed:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then consider getting professional assistance, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate & Keep Your WordPress Site Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

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

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 …

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 using the Master list type make sure that you only permit non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s review the settings in the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

This enables 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

This setting allows the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to delegate 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

Here you can allow the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can enable 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 transfer data from one website 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 area …

Here you can easily export and import your list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This will open up a new window allowing you to view or download the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to an internal or external storage medium …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in an 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 save your file to a storage medium…

Importing To-Do List Data

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

Locate the file and click ‘Open’ …

Once uploading the 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 create and edit to-do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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’ page …

Add New To Do Items

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

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

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

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

Depending on how you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding new to-do items.

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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using 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 users) …

Once a new item has been added, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat the above process to keep adding new items to your list …

Edit And Remove 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 how you have set up the plugin (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

After creating your to do list, users can view it inside their own dashboard …

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

… the item is then removed from the “To-Do” list …

And gets listed 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 a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and insert lists into any page or post using short codes.

Using The Plugin Widget

To add a to-do list 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 want your to-do list to display …

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

Your to-do list will appear wherever you have inserted the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using Plugin Shortcodes

The plugin also lets you add to-do lists on your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

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

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

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

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

Once you know what type of 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 inside the content area …

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

Go here for more details about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a to-do list in WordPress.

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