How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

There never seems to be enough hours in the day to get things done, especially if you are a business owner.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never stops.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and things suddently begin feeling unmanageable and chaotic.

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

A simple “tried and true” 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 track your progress when trying to achieve your goals. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

Here are just a few of the many benefits of using to-do lists:

To-Do Lists Help To Keep Things Organized

A to-do list helps you create order, stay organized and reach your goals sooner.

Strategize

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you see the larger picture and come up with a strategy for getting things done effectively.

Quickly Reorganize And Reschedule

Using to do lists help you better cope with events. If a meeting gets cancelled at short notice or extra time is made available when some aspect of the project gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reschedule and continue moving forward without disruption.

Eliminate Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and very little time to do it all in. Using to-do lists allow you to work on urgent tasks that have to get done within the time you have available, and push out non-urgent tasks that can be worked on at a later time. This can help reduce stress.

Better Delegation Of Work

Having to-do lists help you delegate work to others 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. Creating a to do list, then prioritizing tasks and working systematically improves your business efficiency and productivity.

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 easily create to do lists in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Download URL

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

Description

This plugin lets you easily add a customizable to do list to WordPress.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can set up the plugin to have 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 option includes a number of different settings. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to users) and optionally to have assigned items be seen 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 in the front-end administration.

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

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

Installing The Plugin

Log into your WordPress dashboard scroll down the main menu 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 plugin in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The ‘Settings’ area can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ screen …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Configuration

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Select ‘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 is 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 create ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

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

List View

List View allows you to specify how lists are viewed. There are 3 to-do list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Use this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – Choose this option to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to adjust 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 choose Category, Alphabetical or ID, Category, ID or Alphabetical 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 applies when ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If enabled, you will be able to 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 lets you display the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled, you can 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 collaborative website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same developer to help make the task of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

To learn more this handy plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Editorial Solution Plugin

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

Advanced Settings

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

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

In this section you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and carry out 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen allows you to 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 list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for highest, middle and low priority items …

Highest (important) priority items display in red in the lists and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), the item’s ID will display on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display the date the table of items was added …

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 settings in this area and assign to-do items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can assign tasks 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 to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) displays items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do 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, WordPress automatically sends 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 on the subject of your emails …

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

If you don’t want to show to-do categories in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, your site has several 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 emails to users. You can enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you want showing as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, add a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users whenever a new item has been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type in 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 associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area itself …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that to-do items you have already deleted are still appearing on your site.

The following tasks can be performed:

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

Actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to carry out database maintenance in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then get professional support services, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress file and database backups here:

• Back Up, Clone And Keep Your WP Web Site Protected With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen Individual List, the only item applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you plan to configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to perform for each option …

By default, general capabilities for each user role are configured 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-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

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

View To-Do List

Here you can enable 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

Here you can enable the selected capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to add new to-do 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 permits the chosen capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can enable 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

This option enables the chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may decide to transfer data from an existing to-do list to another website, or export the list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Now you can export or import your list data 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 new window allowing you to download and save the data in plain text format to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting 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 checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your storage medium…

Importing To-Do List Data

Importing a 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’ …

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

Your 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 The Plugin

To create a new to-do list, log into your WordPress dashboard, then scroll down the menu and click on To-Do List > To-Do List …

This brings you to the ‘To-Do List’ screen …

Add New To Do Items To Your List

There are a number of 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 bar …

You can also add new to-do items in the Dashboard 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, as the link is only going to 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’ area.

Depending on how you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when adding new items to your to-do list.

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 to-do item …

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign items to users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …

You can also assign multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

Once After adding a new item, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding new items to your list …

Editing And Deleting Items From Your List

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 settings (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to-do list, users can view it from their own user dashboard …

When users assigned with the item complete the task and click on the item checkbox …

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

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ section 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 to-do lists on your website using widgets, and insert a list into any page or post using shortcodes.

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 would like your list to display …

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

The list will appear where the ‘to-do-list’ widget was inserted (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Shortcodes

You can also add lists and checklists to your site using short codes.

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 …

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

Once you know what 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 editor …

After publishing your post or page, you will see the list showing exactly where you added the shortcode …

Go here for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists to your WordPress site or blog.

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