How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially when you are running a fast-paced business.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to end.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website updated with new content and things can start feeling unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks to other people effectively.

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

The Benefits Of Using To Do Lists

A “to-do” list helps you keep track of your progress when trying to complete projects. Your to do list can be very detailed and very specific, or serve as a reminder of the things that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Free Your Brain

Writing a to-do list means you won’t have to try and remember stuff or store excessive information inside your brain. Once tasks are jotted down on a to-do list, your mind is free to process other information and you can focus on other areas that are more important.

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time more effectively. You can develop a clearer perspective on what’s truly important vs what isn’t, and what steps need to be done first.

Reorganize And Reschedule Quickly

A to do list helps you better handle situations. If an appointment gets cancelled at short notice or extra time becomes available because some task got completed sooner than expected, you can continue moving forward without loss of focus.

Less Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much that needs doing and very little time to do it all in. Using a to do list allows you to work on urgent things that need to get done within the time you have available, and reschedule items that can be worked on later. This can help reduce stress.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Ticking items off a to-do list gives you a sense of accomplishment and allows you to relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the workload is 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. Creating to do lists, prioritizing tasks and working systematically improves your business productivity and efficiency.

Let’s turn now to using a to-do list on your website. More specifically, adding a to-do list to WordPress.

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

Cleverness To Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Description

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

Features

Note: the 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 each user, to have all users share a 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 assign to do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to do item to assigned users) and optionally to have those items only viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your lists and your 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 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Category management is restricted to the back-end admin section.

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

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WordPress admin and in the main menu click on Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the item in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

The section below shows you how to go through the plugin setup process …

How To Set Up The Plugin

The Settings area is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize lists 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 you can then use to organize 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 when using widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you specify how to-do lists will be viewed. There are three list views you can choose:

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

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which users have 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

If enabled, you can specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays 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, automatic paragraphs are used to display content in your to-do list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a collaborative site 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 …

Go here to learn more this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

After you are done configuring your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

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

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 in your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, the items’ IDs show up on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will show the date your To-Do Items table was added …

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 settings 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 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

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

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Contributor displays the type of users that can be assigned items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then leave its checkbox unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

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

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip the remaining 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-do categories added to the email subject.

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

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 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 emails to users. You can enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, enter a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users when a new item has been added to 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 section you can perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area …

This function is useful if, for example, you see that previously deleted to-do items are still displaying on your site.

The following tasks can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations carried out from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then make sure to backup your WP database first.

If you don’t want to back up your site manually, then get professional WordPress help services, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform complete file and database backups here:

• Backup, Clone & Protect Your WP Web Sites With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

In this section you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you choose the Individual List type, the only configurable option applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to have access to for each option …

By default, general capabilities for 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 allow non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

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

View To-Do List

This setting allows the chosen 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 permits the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can permit 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 allows the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit 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

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may decide to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or export the 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 and import your list 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 will open up a new window allowing you to view or save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium …

In addition to exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your admin menu and selecting 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 selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to an internal or external hard drive…

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 …

Select the file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you can start create and edit your to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to-do list, log into your WordPress admin, then go to the menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

How To Add New To-Do Items To Your List

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

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

You can also add new items to your to-do list in your Dashboard 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 contains many items, as the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the screen) …

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin’s settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add 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 item to your list …

Note: If you have selected a list type that allows you to 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 you have added the item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat the above process to keep adding items to your to-do list …

Editing And Deleting 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 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 WordPress dashboard …

When the user assigned with completing an item ticks the item check box …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your website using widgets, and insert lists into content inside a post or page using short codes.

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 want your list to appear …

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

The list will now display on your site where the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been placed (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Short Codes

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin also lets you display to-do lists and checklists to your site using shortcodes.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard menu …

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use short codes to display lists and checklists on your posts and pages.

Once you know what type of information you would like to add to your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content section …

After publishing your post or page, you will see the list showing in the location where you entered the shortcode …

Visit this site for more details about 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 or blog.

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