How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you run a hectic business.

There is just so much to do and remember. You have deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never ends.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and things can quickly start becoming 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 daily activities, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks and responsibilities to members of your team efficiently.

A simple “tried and true” method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to regain 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 your goals. Your to do list can be very detailed or specific, or act as a 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 Your Brain

Creating to do lists means you won’t have to keep remembering stuff or clutter your head with details. Once tasks are jotted down on a to-do list, your brain is free to process information and you can focus on other areas that may be more important.

Strategize

After creating and organizing a to-do list, you can see the bigger picture and create a strategic plan for getting tasks completed on time and on budget.

Document Your Work

To-do lists let you keep documented logs of what work has been done. You can use this as evidence of work done to employers or clients, or simply as a means of helping you measure your own productivity and efficiency.

Eliminate Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so little time to do it all in. Using a to do list allows you to work on urgent tasks that need to get done within the time you have available, and reschedule tasks that can be addressed at a later time. This can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and alleviate some of the stress you (and your team) may be feeling.

Better Delegation Of Work

To-do lists help you better delegate work to others. This is also important if you plan to work within a team (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 focused manner and your business productivity and efficiency will surely improve.

What about adding to-do lists to your website?

In this detailed 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 great little 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 provides users with a to do list feature.

Features

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

You can configure the plugin 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 completion of items.

The shared to-do list has a variety of settings available. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email new to-do items to assigned users) and optionally to have those items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to enable the display of 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 lists and the to-do list can also appear on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are two shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end admin section.

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

Installing The Plugin

Inside your site’s dashboard, scroll down the menu and choose Plugins > Add New …

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

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 from the Plugins section …

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the ‘Settings’ screen by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s configure the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

The Settings screen is divided into 4 tabs:

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

Let’s now take you through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

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

List View

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

• Individual – Choosing this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to sort to-do list items.

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled, you can display which of your users has 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 (‘Yes’) displays completion dates for your to-do items.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you can specify deadlines for to-do tasks …

Show Progress

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 WordPress Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled, you will be able to add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

If enabled, automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a multi-author site or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, developed by the same author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

For more information about using this WordPress plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

After configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

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

Let’s go through how to configure the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Customize The To-Do List

In this section 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 how to format dates in WordPress, see the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize labels for important, middle and low priority items …

Highest priority items are color-coded in red and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) shows the items’ IDs on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) shows the date the To-Do Items table 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 section and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option to assign to-do items to other users …

Note: This set this option 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 assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Contributor to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

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

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip other items 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 display categories in the subject of your emails.

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to display to-do categories 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, your website has multiple 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. You can enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add into this field 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 automatically sent out to users whenever new items have been assigned 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area …

This is useful if, for example, you see that to-do items you have previously deleted are still showing up 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 – Erase all to-do items.

Any actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want 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 data manually, then consider getting help from a WordPress professional, or use backup plugins. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform automated backups here:

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

User Permissions

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

If you select the Individual List type, the only configurable item applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to be able to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities for 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 in this section:

View To-Do List

This option permits 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

Here you can permit the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option 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

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This setting allows the selected capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may need to transfer data from one website to another, or export the list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Here you can import or export your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a window allowing you to view or save your data in plain text format to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard menu and choosing 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 just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your 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 in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

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

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you can start creating and editing 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 you to the ‘To-Do List’ page …

How To Add 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 admin bar …

You can also add new to-do items 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 will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

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

Depending on how you have configured your plugin settings, some options may not display 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 item to your list …

Note: If you have selected a list type that lets you 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 remove a user) …

Once you have added the item, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

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

Editing And Deleting 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 configured your plugin settings (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

Once you have created your to-do list, users can view the list when logged into their WP user dashboard …

When users assigned with the item complete the task and tick the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and display lists on content inside a post or page using short codes.

Plugin Widget

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

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

Your list will now display on your site where you have inserted the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Using The Cleverness Plugin Short Codes

You can also add to-do 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 your WP admin menu …

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

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

This documentation section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists on your pages and posts.

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

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed in the location where you have inserted the short code …

To download this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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