How To Create A To-Do List 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 so many deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to end.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with new content and everything suddenly begins feeling unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, track your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, assign responsibilities to others efficiently.

A proven tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to take control is to use a “to-do” list.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help to keep you on track and monitor your progress when working towards specific objectives. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or act as a reminder of tasks that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Organization

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

Better Manage Your Time

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

Reorganize Quickly

Using to-do lists help you better cope with changes in circumstances. If you find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time is made available when something gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reschedule and continue working with no loss of focus.

Less Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and very little time to do it all in. Creating a to-do list allows you to work on urgent items that need to get done immediately, and reschedule tasks that can be addressed later. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Better Delegation Of Work

Having to-do lists help you better delegate work to others. This is also important if you plan to collaborate on a team-based project (see further below).

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 the list and efficiency and productivity in your business will increase.

Let’s turn now to using to do lists on your website or blog. More specifically, how to add a to-do list to WordPress.

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to-do lists to a WP website or blog to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Plugin Download URL

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

Description

This plugin lets you easily add to do lists to a WordPress website or blog.

Features

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

You can set up the plugin to have private to do lists for individual users, to have all users share the same to-do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to-do list option has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to-do items to a specific user (this includes emailing a new to do item to the user) and optionally to have assigned items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. 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 manage your lists and the 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 blog. There are two shortcodes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is accessible through the back-end.

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

Inside your site’s dashboard, click on Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List item in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The settings section can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ screen …

The section below shows you how to set up the plugin …

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Configuration

The Settings screen is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s now go through 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 is added to the To-Do List menu …

This lets you add categories to your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

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

Private categories will not be visible using widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how lists will be viewed. You can choose from three list views:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets users 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 – Use 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 your to-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you 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 items.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for to-do tasks …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled, you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress 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 enabled, automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a multi-author website 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

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

Advanced Settings

After configuring 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 items to 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

Here you can customize your To Do List …

You can configure the following options 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

This section lets you customize your labels for highest (important), middle (normal) and lowest (low) priority items …

Highest priority items display in red in your lists and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display item IDs on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays 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 section and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following settings 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

Enable this option to display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) will display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section Editor to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the check box unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When this option is enabled, WordPress will automatically send 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, skip the 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-do categories to show 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 your site has several 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. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users when a new item has been assigned in 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 area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area …

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

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to perform database maintenance in this section, then remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to perform your own backups, then consider using professional help services, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

• Back Up, Copy And Protect Your WordPress Site With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you choose Individual List, the only item that applies in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you are setting up 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 of 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-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s review the settings in this tab:

View To-Do List

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen 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

Here you can enable the chosen capability to assign 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

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This permits 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 an existing list to another website, or store your 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 easily export and import your list 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 new window allowing you to view or save the data as plain text to an internal or external drive …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress 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 – pages, posts, 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 your hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

Importing a previously saved to-do list data file is easy. Just click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Locate the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

Now that you have configured all 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 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 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 toolbar …

You can also add new to-do items inside 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 down the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding 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 new item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign items to 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 delete a user) …

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

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

Editing And Deleting To Do Items

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

Depending on how you have configured your settings (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When a user assigned with completing an item ticks the item checkbox …

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

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin screen …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and add lists to any page or post using short codes.

Widgets

To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ section (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the location in your sidebar menu where you want your to-do list to appear …

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

Your list will display where the widget has been added (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using Plugin Shortcodes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you create lists and checklists to your site by inserting short codes into your content.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the WP admin menu …

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

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

The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists and checklists on your content.

Once you know what information you would like to add to your site, create a new page or post and either type or paste the short code into the content editor …

After publishing your post or page, you should see the list showing where you have added the short code …

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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