How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

When you run a fast-paced business, time always seems to be in short supply.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have clients to meet, tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with new content and everything suddenly begins feeling unmanageable and overwhelming.

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

One simple proven tool that can help you save time, reduce stress, and allow you to take control is to use a “to-do” list.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list can help you monitor your progress when trying to complete projects. Your to do list can be detailed and specific, or serve as a reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

Here are just a few of the many benefits of using to-do lists:

See Things More Clearly

Writing to do lists means you don’t have to try to memorize things or store additional information inside your brain. Once things are written down on a to do list, your head is free to process information and you can focus on more important things.

Strategize

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you see the larger picture and formulate a strategic plan to get everything completed effectively.

Reorganize Quickly

Using to do lists let you better cope with events. If you find that an appointment gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time is made available because something was completed sooner than expected, you can keep moving forward with minimal disruption.

Stress Relief

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and very little time to do it in. Creating to do lists let you work on important items that have to get done immediately, and push out items that can be worked on later. This can help you stress less.

Sense Of Accomplishment

Ticking items off a to-do list gives you a sense of accomplishment and allows you to relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the workload is getting done and that milestones are being reached.

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 using a to-do list on your website or blog?

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

Cleverness To Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin URL

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

Description

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

Plugin Features

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

You can configure the plugin with 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 option has a variety of settings available. You can assign 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 display deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your list and your to do lists can also display 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. Management of categories is restricted to the back-end admin section.

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

In your site’s dashboard section, scroll down the main menu and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s configure each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

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

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

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

List View

List View lets you choose how to-do lists will be viewed. There are three list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets each user 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 – Select this option to have a 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 list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which users have added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for to-do items.

Show Deadline

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

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

If this option is enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WP Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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 lists using paragraphs.

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, developed by the same plugin author to help make the process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Go here to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner

Once you have finished configuring your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

After configuring 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 tasks to users and perform plugin database maintenance.

Let’s step 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 …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you 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, visit the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this section you can customize labels for important, middle (normal) and low priority items …

Items given the highest (important) priority are shown in red in your lists and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option displays item IDs on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) shows the date the To-Do Items table was added …

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 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to 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. 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

If this option is enabled, WordPress automatically sends 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 this option is disabled, 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

If you don’t want categories to appear the email subject, 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 option is useful if, for example, 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 emails. 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 showing as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, type a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users whenever new items have been assigned to 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 allows you to carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area …

This is useful if, for example, you see that previously deleted items are still listed on your site.

The following tasks can be performed in this section:

• Delete Tables – Remove any custom database tables that are no longer being used.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all to-do items.

Actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want to perform database maintenance in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your site manually, then consider using professional WordPress assistance services, or use backup plugins. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

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

User Permissions

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

If you have selected the Individual List type, the only permission that applies in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to have access to for each option …

By 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 permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s review the settings in the User Permissions 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

This setting permits the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This allows the chosen 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 decide to transfer data from an existing to-do list to another website, or export your data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Now you can easily import or export your data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

To export and download your list data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This opens up a new window allowing you to view or save your data in plain text format to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your main 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 download your file to your hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a list data file, click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Locate the file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

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

How To Use The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Adding New Items To Your To Do List

There are several 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 to-do items inside the Dashboard 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 send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when when you add new to-do items.

Select 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 lets you 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 remove users) …

After you have added a new item item, the item will display 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 associated with each item under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your plugin configuration plugin settings (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When users responsible for an item complete the task and tick the item checkbox …

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

And gets listed the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and add lists to content inside a post or page using shortcodes.

Plugin Widget

To add to-do lists 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 (or footer) menu where you want your to-do list to display …

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

Your list will now display wherever the widget was placed (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use WordPress Widget

Plugin Short Codes

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin also lets you add lists and checklists on 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 your WordPress admin menu …

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

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

This documentation section explains various ways to configure and use short codes to display lists on your posts and pages.

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the shortcode into the content editor …

Publish your post or page and you should see the list showing where you added 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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