How To Create A To Do List In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you run a growing business or manage other people.

There are so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to end.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and everything can quickly start feeling unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, it’s important to be able to organize and manage your daily activities.

One ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, alleviate stress, and allow you to take control is to use “to-do” lists.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list helps you monitor your progress when trying to get tasks completed. Your to-do list can be quite detailed or specific, or act as a reminder of the things that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Clearer Thinking

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

Be More Strategic

After creating and organizing your to-do list, you can break down larger projects into more doable tasks and create a strategic plan for getting everything done efficiently.

Quickly Reorganize

To-do lists help you better deal with changes in circumstances. If a meeting gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time becomes available when something gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and keep moving forward with minimal loss of focus.

Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and take over your productivity.

Delegate Better

Having a to-do list helps you better delegate tasks to other people. This is also important if you plan to collaborate on a team-based project (see further below).

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 towards completing the items listed increases your business efficiency and productivity.

What about adding to-do lists to your WordPress website?

In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to do lists to a WP website or blog 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 Download URL

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

Description

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

Features

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

You can set up the plugin with 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 item completions.

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 assigned users) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. 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 backend to help you manage your list and your to do list is also listed on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to-do list items on your site. There are 2 short codes for front-end administration of your list. Category management is accessed through the back-end.

If you plan to run a multi-author site you can use the to do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also own the Post Planner plugin from the same developer.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

Log into your WP administration area and select Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the plugin in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The settings area can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …

The section below shows you how to set up the plugin …

How To Configure The Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s now go through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

Note: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item will be 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 set up ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

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

List View

List View allows you to choose how lists will be viewed. There are three types of to do list views:

• Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to be able to share one to-do list.
• Master – Choose this option to create one master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to set 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 first sorted by priority.

Show Added By

Enabling this option 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

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

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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 Dashboard 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

If enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running 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 task of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

For more details about using this handy plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Multi-Author Publishing Plugin For WordPress

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

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

In this area you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items 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 options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

Here you can specify how to display dates on your todo list (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

This section lets you customize your labels for highest (important), middle and low priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will display the items’ IDs on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the date the to-do list was added shows on your To-Do 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 settings 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 (‘Yes’) 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. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area Author displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When this option is enabled, 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 the remaining items in this section.

Add Category to Subject

If you have enabled categories in your plugin settings and select ‘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 (‘No’) if you don’t want to display to-do categories in the email subject.

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 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 to users. Type your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

In this field, add 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 automatically sent out to users whenever a new item has been added in 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 lets you carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself …

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

You can perform the tasks below in this section:

• Delete Tables – Delete any custom database tables that you are no longer using.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all 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 remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data yourself, then get support from a WordPress professional, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform automated 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 or Master List types …

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

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to be able to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities of each user role are 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-administrators should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s now review the settings in the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow the selected 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 enable the selected capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

Here you can enable the selected 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 transfer data from one website to another, or export your list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can easily import and export your list 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 save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to an internal or external storage medium …

As well as exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress main 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 download your file to an internal or external hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

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

Locate the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to begin creating and editing to do lists.

Plugin Usage

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 …

Adding A New Item To Your List

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

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

You can also add new items to your to-do list inside 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 already contains many items, as the link will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have configured the plugin settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding new to-do items.

Configure 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have selected 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 delete users) …

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

Repeat the above process to continue 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 items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your configuration settings (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

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

When users responsible for the item complete the task and click on the item check box …

… the item is then removed from the “To-Do” list …

And gets added to 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 WordPress website using widgets, and add lists to content inside a post or page using short codes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List 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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you would like your list to display …

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

Your to-do list will display wherever the widget was placed (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use WordPress Widget

Using Plugin Short Codes

You can also display lists to your site using short codes.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your 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 section explains different ways to configure and use short codes to display lists on your posts and pages.

Once you know what type of information you want to display on your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content section …

Publish your page or post and you will see the list showing where you added the shortcode …

Visit the plugin website here for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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