How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

If you are running a growing business or managing other people, time always seems to be in short supply.

There is just so much to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website updated with new content and things suddently begin feeling unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, track your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks to other people effectively.

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

Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to do” list helps you monitor your progress when trying to get tasks completed. Your to do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or act as a reminder of the things that need doing today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Clear Thinking

Writing to-do lists means that you don’t have to memorize things 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 things that are more important to you.

Better Strategic Planning

After creating and organizing your to do list, you can view the larger picture and formulate a strategic plan for getting tasks done effectively.

Quickly Reorganize And Reschedule

Using to do lists help you better handle changes in circumstances. If you find that an appointment has been cancelled or extra time is made available because some task got completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with no loss of focus.

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there’s no commitment to completion, 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

Crossing items off to do lists gives you a sense of accomplishment and allows you to stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that the workload is getting done and that things are moving forward.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work systematically and your business productivity and efficiency will surely increase.

What about adding to do lists to your WordPress website or blog?

In this detailed 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 The Plugin

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

Plugin Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

Note: the plugin features listed 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 the same 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 a specific user (this includes emailing new to-do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your list and your to-do list can also be displayed 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 administration of the list. Category management is accessed via the back-end.

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

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WordPress admin and in the menu choose 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 area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s settings screen can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

Let’s configure the plugin …

Configuring The Plugin

The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ area is divided into 4 sections:

• To-Do List Settings – The options in this tab let you specify the main plugin 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 tab is where you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group List types.
• Import/Export – This tab is where you export and import to-do list data and plugin settings.

Let’s go through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

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

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

This allows you to add categories that you can use to organize your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

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

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

List View

List View lets you choose how to-do lists are viewed. You can choose three list views:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets each user create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows users to share one to-do list.
• Master – Use 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 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 Alphabetical, Category or ID options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for to-do items.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option lets you 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

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress 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 to display content in your to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a collaborative 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 WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

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

Advanced Settings

After configuring the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

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

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 …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Date Format

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

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for prioritizing important, normal and lowest items …

Items prioritized as “important” are colour-coded in red and lowest 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 list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option will show the date the table of items was added …

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

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

The following options can be configured 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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display 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

Check the boxes in this section (Administrator to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then don’t tick its check box.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, 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.

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

If you don’t want to-do categories displayed in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled.

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 is a useful option if you have multiple 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. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

In this field, type the email address that you would like 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 whenever a new item has been assigned in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type into this field 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 of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself without the need to access your web server …

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

You can perform the tasks below in this section:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be reversed. 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 back up your data yourself, then get professional WordPress support services, or use backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your file and data backups here:

• Backup, Clone And Keep Your WP Website Protected With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

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

If you plan to set up 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 for each user role are set up as follows:

• Subscribers: Read
• Contributors: Edit Posts
• Authors: Publish Posts
• Editors: Edit Others Posts
• Administrators: Manage Options

Note: When using the Master list type make sure that you only allow non-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

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

View To-Do List

This option enables 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 allow the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This permits the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to assign items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can permit 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 allow 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 very useful. For example, you may decide to copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or export the list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Here you can easily export or import your 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 window allowing you to view or download your data as plain text to a storage device (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 dashboard menu and selecting 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 just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your storage medium…

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 …

Select the file and click ‘Open’ …

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

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing your lists.

Plugin Usage

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

This brings up the ‘To-Do List’ page …

Adding New To-Do Items

There are several ways to add new items to your to-do list.

For example, you can add new to-do items from your dashboard bar …

You can also add new to-do items to your list from the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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 contains many items, since the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add 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 to-do item …

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign responsibilities over items to specific 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 remove a user) …

After you have added an item, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

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

Edit And Delete 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 the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

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

When users assigned with an item complete the task and tick the item check box …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your website using widgets, and display a list on content inside a post or page using short codes.

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 menu location where you want the list to display …

Configure the widget settings and click ’Save’ …

Your to-do list will appear wherever the widget has been inserted (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use WordPress Widget

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Short Codes

You can also display lists to your site with shortcodes.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your admin menu …

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

Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ menu entry to access the Shortcode Documentation …

This section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists on your pages and posts.

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the short code inside the content section …

Publish your post or page and you should see the list showing in the location where you have inserted the short code …

To download this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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