How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

If you are a business owner, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never ends.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website updated with new content and things can start to become unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, track your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, assign tasks to members of your team effectively.

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

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list helps you measure your progress as you work towards completing projects. Your to-do list can be quite detailed or specific, or act as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Think Clearly

Writing a to do list means that you don’t have to memorize stuff or clutter your head with details. 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.

Time Prioritization

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can develop a better perspective on what is truly urgent vs what’s not, and what steps need to be completed first.

Keep Work Logs

To-do lists let you maintain documented logs of the work you have done. This can be used to provide evidence of work done to employers or clients, or just as a method of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability allows excuses to creep in and impact your productivity.

Better Delegation Of Work

To-do lists help you assign tasks to other people better. This is also important when collaborating within a team (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using to-do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to-do lists, then prioritizing tasks and working in a systematic way improves productivity and efficiency in your business.

Let’s turn now to using to-do lists on your website. More specifically, adding to do lists to WordPress.

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily create a to-do list in WordPress to help your business grow online  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Download The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

Plugin Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Features

Note: the plugin 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 your to-do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to do list offers different settings. You can delegate to do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to-do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items be 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 also included as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your lists and the to-do list can also display on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to do list items on your blog. There are two short codes for front-end administration of the list. Management of categories is accessible via the back-end.

If you plan to set up 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 Post Planner plugin for WordPress.

How To Install The Plugin

In your site’s admin area, 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 entry in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the settings screen by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s configure the plugin …

How To Configure The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings area is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s go through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do list 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 allows you to 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 to-do lists.

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

List View

List View allows you to choose how your to-do lists will be viewed. You can select 3 list views:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create 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 adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see 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

If enabled, you can display which users have added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option lets you 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 list items 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, developed by the same author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

For more information about using this WordPress plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner

Once you have configured your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

After configuring the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab …

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

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

Let’s step 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 …

The following settings can be configured 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 formatting dates in WordPress, visit the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this area you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest (important), middle (normal) and lowest (low) items …

Items prioritized as “important” are shown in red in the lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, the items’ IDs display on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added displays on the To-Do Items table …

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 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 to display items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled will display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Subscriber) displays 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 checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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, 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

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

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, your site has various 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 notices. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you would like to display as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users whenever new items have been added to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Enter 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 associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area itself …

This is useful if, for example, you notice that previously deleted items are still showing up on your site.

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

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

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

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

• Back Up, Duplicate And Protect Your WP Website With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you have chosen Individual List, the only item 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 …

The 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 working with the Master list type non-administrator users should only be authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings for this section:

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

Here you can allow the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This permits the selected capability to assign to-do 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

Here you can permit the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This setting enables 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 list to another website, or store the list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Here you can import or export 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 will open up a window allowing you to view or save your data in plain text format to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard menu and choosing Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in an 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 the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to an internal or external 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 …

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

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

Your file data will be imported.

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

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress admin, then go to the menu and click on To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Add A New Item To Your To-Do List

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

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

You can also add new to-do items 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 will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

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

Depending on how you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding new to-do items.

Select the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate 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 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 delete users) …

Once After adding a new item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

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

Editing And Deleting Items From Your List

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to do list, users can view the list from their own dashboard …

When users assigned with completing an item tick the item check box …

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

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

Additional Information

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

Using The Cleverness 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 would like your list to show …

Configure the widget settings and click the ‘Save’ button …

The list will appear where the widget has been inserted (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Using Plugin Short Codes

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

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from the WordPress admin menu …

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying 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 will see the list displayed exactly where you added the shortcode …

To download this plugin, visit the plugin website:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists in WordPress.

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