How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

There never seems to be enough time to get things done, especially if you run a hectic business or manage any kind of project that involves people working together as a team.

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

Now … add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website updated with new content and everything can start feeling unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, you need to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.

A 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 “to-do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to-do” list can help to keep you on track and monitor your progress when trying to complete projects. Your to do list can be detailed and specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of the things that need to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Clearer Thinking

Writing a to do list means that you won’t have to memorize stuff or clutter your brain with details. Once tasks are jotted down on a to-do list, your mind is free to process other information and you can focus on other important areas.

Manage Your Time Better

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and manage your workload more effectively. You can gain a better perspective on what is more important vs what’s not, and what tasks should be completed first.

Quickly Reschedule

Using to do lists let you better handle changes in circumstances. If a meeting gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time is made available when some task gets completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with minimal loss of focus.

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and take over your work day.

Working With Others

Using to do lists and other project management tools is essential for getting other people involved on some of your larger or more complex projects.

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 towards completing the items listed improves your business productivity and efficiency.

What about adding a to-do list to your website?

In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to create to-do lists in WordPress to help your business grow online  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to do list 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 a to do list to a WordPress site.

Plugin Features

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

You can configure 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 item completions.

The shared to-do list offers different settings. You can assign to do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to-do item to the user) and optionally to have those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your list and the to-do lists can also be displayed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to do list items on your site. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is accessible via the back-end admin section.

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

Installing The Plugin

Inside your WordPress dashboard area, select 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 item in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the settings section by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Setup

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen is divided into 4 tabs:

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

Let’s configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

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

This allows you to 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.

Private categories are not visible using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how lists are viewed. There are three kinds of to-do list views available:

• Individual – Choosing this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – Choose 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 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 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 of your users has added an item to the to-do list.

Note: This setting only applies if ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If enabled, you can specify deadlines for 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’) displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display content in your to-do list items using paragraphs.

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, from the same plugin developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

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

Once you have configured your plugin options in this section, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

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

This section lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform database maintenance tasks.

Let’s step 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 options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates in your todo list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for prioritizing highest, normal and low items …

Items prioritized as “important” display in red in your lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will show the item’s ID on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings

If you have chosen ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the settings in this section and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

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

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress will automatically send 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, skip the remaining 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 on the subject of your emails …

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

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to-do categories added to the email subject.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If this option is enabled, you can 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 allows you to customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Type into this field the email address that you would like showing as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type into this field a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users whenever a new item has been assigned in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, 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 lets you carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area …

This is useful if, for example, you see that old items are still showing on your site.

The tasks below can be performed:

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

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

If you don’t want to back up your site yourself, then consider hiring a professional service, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

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

User Permissions

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

If you have selected Individual List, the only configurable option that is applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are configuring 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 using the Master list type non-admin users should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow the chosen 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 allow the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This permits the chosen capability to edit existing to-do 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 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 enables the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This enables the selected 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 want to transfer 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 area …

Use this section to import or export your to-do list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a window allowing you to download and save the data as plain text to a storage device …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress admin 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 save your file to your hard drive…

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 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 …

Your file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to start creating and editing to-do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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’ page …

Adding New To-Do Items

There are a number of ways to add new items to your to-do 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 using 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 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 bring you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ area.

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

Select 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have selected a list type that allows you to assign items to specific 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 After adding a new item, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

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

Editing And Deleting To Do Items

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons next to items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

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

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

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

And displays in 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 WordPress site using widgets, and display lists on content inside a post or page using shortcodes.

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 menu where you would like your list to appear …

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

Your to-do list will now display on your site where the widget was inserted (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 Shortcodes

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you add to-do lists and checklists on your site with shortcodes.

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’ menu entry to access the Shortcode Documentation screen …

This documentation section explains various ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists 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 short code inside the content editor …

Publish your page or post and you will see the list displayed where you added the shortcode …

For more information about this plugin, visit the plugin website:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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