Creating To Do Lists In WordPress

If you are a business owner, time always seems to be in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website updated with regular content and things suddently begin to feel unmanageable and overwhelming.

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

A simple “tried and true” method that can help you save time, alleviate stress, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using To Do Lists

A “to-do” list helps you track your progress when trying to complete tasks. Your to do list can be detailed or specific, or just serve as a reminder of the things that need doing today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Clearer Thinking

Writing to do lists means that you won’t have to keep remembering things or clutter your brain with details. Once things are written down on a to-do list, your head is free to process information and you can focus on other important areas.

Better Manage Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and manage your workload more effectively. You can develop a clearer perspective on what is truly important vs what is not, and what steps should be completed first.

Keep Documented Work Logs

A to do list allows you to maintain documented logs of what has been done. This can be used as evidence of work done to clients or employers, or simply as a way of helping you measure your own productivity and efficiency.

Less Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so little time to do it in. Creating to do lists let you prioritize urgent tasks that need to be completed within the time you have available, and reschedule non-urgent tasks that can be worked on later. This can help reduce stress.

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. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work systematically and efficiency and productivity in your business will surely increase.

What about using a to do list on your website?

In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to create a to do list in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little plugin for WordPress called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

This WordPress plugin provides users with a to-do list feature.

Plugin Features

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

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

The shared to do list provides different settings. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email new to-do items to users) and optionally to have those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your list and your 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 list administration. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end.

If you plan to run a multi-author site you can use this to do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also install a copy of the Post Planner plugin for WordPress.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

Log into your WP dashboard and in the main menu select Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the entry 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 area …

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

The section below shows you how to go through the plugin setup process …

Setting Up The Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s go through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

List View

List View lets you specify how your lists will be viewed. You can select 3 kinds of list views:

Individual – Selecting this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
Group – Choosing this option lets users share the same to-do list.
Master – This option allows you 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 that you set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which of your members has added an item to your 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 (‘Yes’), you will be able to specify deadlines for 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

If enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WordPress 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

Enable this option to display content in to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running 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 helps to make the process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Go here to learn more about this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

When you have configured your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

Once you have configured the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

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

In this screen you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform plugin database maintenance.

Let’s go 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 …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates on 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 date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest (important), middle and lowest items …

Items given the highest priority are colour-coded in red and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs show on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled (‘Yes’), the date the to-do list was added shows on the table of items …

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

If you have selected either ‘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 options in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

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

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area Author displays the type of users that can be assigned 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 you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send 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 (‘No’).

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

If you don’t want categories to appear the email subject, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

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 is a useful option if you have multiple 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. You can enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

In this field, type 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 new items have been assigned 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 related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area without the need to access your web server …

This function is useful if, for example, you see that items you have already deleted are still showing up on your site.

The following tasks can be performed:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be reversed. 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 site yourself, then get professional assistance, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups here:

Back Up, Copy And Protect Your WordPress Web 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 are using Individual List, the only item applicable for this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you are configuring user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to have access to for each option …

The 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-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings for the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow 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

This allows the chosen capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the selected capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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 selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option allows the selected capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can allow 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 want to copy over data from one website to another, or store 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 import or export your 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 will open up a window allowing you to view or save the data in plain text format to an internal or external hard 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 choosing Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, 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 list data file is easy. Just click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Select the file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you can begin create and edit your lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

To create a new to-do list, go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Add New To Do Items

There are a number of ways to add new to-do items.

For example, you can add new to-do items to your list from your WP dashboard toolbar …

You can also add new items to your to-do list 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, as the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

The above methods 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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using 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 assign multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to remove users) …

After a new item has been added, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

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

Editing And Deleting Items

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 set up the plugin (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 it when logged into their own dashboard …

When a user assigned with an item completes the task and clicks on the item check box …

… the item disappears from the “To-Do” list …

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your site using widgets, and insert lists into content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List 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 location in your sidebar menu where you would like your list to appear …

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

The list will appear on your site where you have placed the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

To learn more about how to use WordPress widgets, see the tutorial below:

How To Use s

Using Plugin Short Codes

You can also create lists and checklists to your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

To access the documentation on using short codes, click on 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’ menu to access the Shortcode Documentation …

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

Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, create or edit a new or existing page or post and either type or paste the short code into the content section …

Publish your post or page and you should see the list displayed exactly where you have added the short code …

Visit the plugin website to learn more about this plugin:

Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a to-do list to your WordPress site.

***

"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now

***