How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

If you run a hectic business or manage a team, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything done.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never seems to end.

Now … add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with fresh content and everything can suddenly begin feeling unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks to members of your team or staff efficiently.

A proven method that can help you save time, reduce stress, and allow you to take control is to use “to do” lists.

Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to-do” list helps you keep track of your progress when working towards a certain goal. Your to-do list can be detailed or specific, or just serve as a reminder of the things that need to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Clear Thinking

Creating a to do list means that you won’t have to try and remember stuff or store information inside your mind. Once tasks are written down on a to do list, your brain is free to process information and you can focus on things that are more important to you.

Strategize

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you see the larger picture and create a strategic plan to get everything completed on budget and on time.

Reschedule Quickly

Using to do lists help you better cope with events. If a meeting gets cancelled or extra time is made available because something was completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize or reschedule and keep moving forward with minimal loss of focus.

Stress Less

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and very little time to do it in. Using a to-do list allows you to prioritize important tasks that have to get done within a reasonable timeframe, and push out non-urgent tasks that can be addressed later. This can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Collaborating With Others

Creating 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 a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating a to-do list, prioritizing tasks and working in a focused manner increases productivity and efficiency in your business.

What about using a to do list on your WordPress website or blog?

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to create to do lists in WordPress to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a great little plugin for WordPress called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin Download URL

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

Plugin Description

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

Plugin Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To-Do List to have private to-do lists for individual users, 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 has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to-do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have assigned items only viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available to enable the display of 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 help you manage your list and your to-do list can also display on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to do list items on your site. There are two shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Category management is restricted to the back-end admin section.

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

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your site’s administration area scroll down the menu choose Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the entry in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

Note: You can also activate this plugin in the Plugins screen …

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

Configuring The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Let’s go through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do lists 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 to your to-do lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can set up ‘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 specify how lists will be viewed. You can choose three list views:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows all users to 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 choose 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-do list items will be sorted.

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 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 to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for your to-do tasks …

Show Progress

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled, you will be able to 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 to-do lists 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 …

Go here to learn more this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Editorial Solution Plugin

After you are done configuring your plugin options in this section, 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 …

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

In this section you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and perform 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’ tab 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 to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting 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, middle and lowest items …

Items prioritized as “important” are colour-coded in red and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, the items’ IDs show on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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 options in this area 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 (‘Yes’) 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

Enabling this option lets you display items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display to-do 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 items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then leave its checkbox unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends 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.

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

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to-do categories to appear the subject of your emails.

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 option is useful if, for example, you have multiple 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 notices. Type 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 displayed 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 sent to users whenever a new item has been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Add 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

This section allows you to carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area without having to log into your server …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that previously deleted todo 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 no longer use.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all of your to-do items.

Actions that you perform on the 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 WP database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then hire a professional service, or use backup plugins. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate & Keep Your WP Websites Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

If you select Individual List, the only permission that is applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are setting 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 …

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 using the Master list type make sure that you only authorize 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

This option enables the selected capability to view items in the dashboard widget and on the To-Do List page under the ‘Tools’ section.

Complete To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the selected capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to view all tasks even if “Show Each User Only Their Assigned Tasks” is set to ‘Yes’.

Delete To-Do Item Capability

This permits the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This option permits 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 copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or export the 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 or import your to-do 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 window allowing you to download and save the data as plain text to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your main menu and selecting 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 download your file to an internal or external 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 …

Locate the previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

After uploading the data file, click the ‘Import Settings’ button …

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

After configuring all plugin settings, you are ready to begin create and edit to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress admin, then scroll down the menu and select 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 several ways to add a new item to your to-do list.

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

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

All the methods shown above will bring you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ area.

Depending on how you have configured your plugin settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when 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 new item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign tasks 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 a new item has been added, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding 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 each item 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 …

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

When a user assigned with completing an item clicks on the item checkbox …

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

And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ page …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin offers added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and add lists to any page or post using short codes.

Using The Cleverness Plugin Widget

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 menu location where you would like the list to appear …

Configure the settings in the widget and click ’Save’ …

Your to-do list will now display on your site where the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been added (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Plugin Short Codes

The plugin also lets you display to-do lists to your site with short codes.

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

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

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

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

Once you know what type of information you would like to display on 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 added the shortcode …

To download this plugin, visit this site:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

***

***