How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress
When you are running a hectic business, time always seems to be in short supply.
There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never ends.
Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with regular content and everything can quickly start to feel unmanageable and chaotic.
Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and manage your day.
One proven tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to-do” list.
The Benefits Of Using A To Do List
A “to do” list helps you measure your progress as you work towards completing tasks. Your to do list can be detailed or specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of tasks that need to be done over a given period of time.
Here are just some of the many benefits of using to do lists:
Stay Organized
A to-do list helps you create order, stay organized and achieve your goals faster.
Manage Your Time Better
Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can develop a clearer perspective on what’s truly important vs what’s not, and what tasks have to be done first.
Log Your Work
A to-do list allows you to keep documented logs of what work has been done. You can use this to provide evidence of work to employers or clients, or simply as a way of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.
Ensures Accountability
With no accountability there’s no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and take over your productivity.
Feeling Of Accomplishment
Ticking items off to do lists gives you a feeling of accomplishment and allows you to relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is being completed and that milestones are being reached.
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 on your list and efficiency and productivity in your business is sure to increase.
What about using a to-do list on your website or blog?
In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add a to do list to your WordPress website or blog to help get things done online faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.
Cleverness To-Do List
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/cleverness-to-do-list/
Description
This WordPress plugin provides users with a to do list feature.
Features
Note: the features listed below are discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.
You can set up Cleverness To Do List to assign private to do lists for individual users, 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 specific users (this includes a setting to email new to-do items to the user) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings available to show 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 your to-do list can also display on the dashboard widget.
A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is restricted to the back-end.
If you plan to set up a multi-author blog you can use this plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also install the Post Planner plugin from the same developer.
Installing The Plugin
Inside your WP admin area, 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 plugin in the Search Results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin after installing it …
Note: You can also activate the plugin from the Plugins section …
After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …
Note: The plugin’s ‘Settings’ section can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …
This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …
The section below shows you how to set up the plugin …
Configuring The Plugin
The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:
- To-Do List Settings – In this section you can specify the main plugin settings.
- Advanced Settings – In this tab you can customize To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.
- User Permissions – This tab is where you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group List types.
- Import/Export – The options in this tab let you import and export to-do list data and plugin settings.
Let’s now go through each of these tabs.
To-Do List Settings
Categories
Select ‘Enabled’ to organize lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.
Note: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item is 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 set to ‘private’ will not be visible when using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)
List View
List View allows you to specify how your to-do lists will be viewed. There are three to-do list views you can select:
- Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
- Group – Use this option if you want all users to be able to 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 you select 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 your to-do list items.
If you select Category, Alphabetical or ID, Category, ID or Alphabetical options, items will be sorted first by priority.
Show Added By
If enabled, you can display which members have added an item to the to-do list.
Note: This setting only applies when ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.
Show Date Completed
If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for to-do items.
Show Deadline
If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can specify deadlines for to-do items …
Show Progress
Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …
Show Admin Bar Menu
If enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …
Use WYSIWYG Editor
This menu option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …
Use Auto Paragraphs
If enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in your to-do lists.
Integrate with Post Planner
If you plan to run a collaborative 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 …
To learn more this WordPress plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin
When you have configured your plugin options in this section, 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’ screen …
In this section you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform 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
In this section you can customize your To Do List …
The following options can be configured in this section:
Date Format
Here you can specify how to display dates on your todo list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)
Note: To learn more about how to format dates in WordPress, refer to the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:
WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time
Priority Labels
In this section you can customize your labels for prioritizing important, normal and lowest (low) items …
Items given the highest (important) priority are shown in red in your lists and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …
Show To-Do Item ID
If enabled, the item’s ID appear on the list …
Show Date To-Do Was Added
If enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added appears on your items table …
To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings
If you have chosen either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this area and assign items to other users …
You can configure the following options in this section:
Assign To-Do Items to Users
Enable this option (‘Yes’) to assign tasks 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
If enabled, you can display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.
User Roles to Show
Check the boxes in this section (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a role, then don’t tick its check box.
Email Assigned To-Do Items to User
If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …
If you don’t want emails sent out to users, then leave this option disabled.
Note: If you disable this option, skip the remaining 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 show to-do categories in the email subject.
Leave this option disabled if you don’t want categories added to 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 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
Use this field to customize the “From” field when sending out email notices to users. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …
From Email
Add the email address that you want to display as the “sent from” address …
Subject Field for Emails Sent to User
Type into this field a subject field for the email that will be sent out automatically to users when a new item has been assigned to your to-do list …
Text in Emails Sent to User
Enter 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 related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area itself …
This is useful if, for example, you notice that items you have previously deleted are still appearing on your site.
The following tasks can be performed in this section:
- Delete Tables – Remove custom database tables that you no longer use.
- Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all of your to-do items.
Actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.
If you don’t want to perform your own backups, then consider hiring a professional, or use WordPress backup plugins. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:
User Permissions
This section lets you configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types …
If you are using the Individual List type, the only item 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 would like 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 working with the Master list type make sure that you only allow non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.
Let’s now review the settings for this tab:
View To-Do List
Here you can enable 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 enable the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.
Add To-Do Item Capability
This permits the selected capability to add new to-do items.
Edit To-Do Item Capability
Here you can allow the chosen capability to edit existing to-do items.
Assign To-Do Item Capability
This option enables the selected capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.
View All Assigned Tasks Capability
This setting allows 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 option allows the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.
Delete All To-Do Items Capability
Here you can allow the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.
Add Categories Capability
This option enables 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 need to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or export your list 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 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 will open up a new window allowing you to view or save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to an internal or external hard drive …
In addition to exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your dashboard 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 just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click 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 file and click ‘Open’ …
Once the data file has been uploaded in your settings area, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …
Your file will be imported.
Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you are ready to start create and edit to do 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 up the ‘To-Do List’ page …
How To Add A New Item 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 admin bar …
You can also add new to-do items to your list in the 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 already contains many items, since the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the page) …
The methods shown above will take you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ section.
Depending on how you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding new to-do items.
Set up the options you have enabled for your to-do items, add 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 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 users) …
Once the item has been added, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …
Repeat the above process to keep adding items to your list …
Edit And Delete To-Do 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 configured your 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 it inside their own WordPress dashboard …
When the user assigned with the item completes the task and clicks on the item check box …
… the item is removed from the “To-Do” list …
And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …
Additional Plugin Information
The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your website using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a page or post using short codes.
Using The Cleverness 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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you want your list to show …
Configure the settings in the widget and click ’Save’ …
The list will appear wherever the widget has been placed (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)
To learn more about using widgets in WordPress, see the tutorial below:
Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Shortcodes
You can also display lists and checklists to your site using short codes.
To access the documentation on using short codes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard menu …
Click the ‘Help’ tab on the top right hand corner of your screen …
Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ menu to access the Shortcode Documentation …
The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists on your pages and posts.
Once you know what information you want to display on your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content section …
After publishing your page or post, you should see the list showing in the location where you added the shortcode …
To download this plugin, visit this site:
Congratulations! Now you can add to-do lists to your WordPress site or blog.
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"This is AMAZING! I had learnt about how to use WordPress previously, but this covers absolutely everything and more!! Incredible value! Thank you!" - Monique, Warrior Forum
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