How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

When you run a fast-paced business or manage other people, time is always in short supply.

There are so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to end.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with regular content and everything can suddenly begin feeling unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, it’s important to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.

One ”tried and true” 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.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list can help you track your progress as you work towards your objectives. Your to do list can be very detailed and very specific, or serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Think Clearly

Creating to-do lists means you don’t have to try to memorize stuff or store information inside your head. Once tasks are written down on a to-do list, your mind is free to process other information and you can focus on other things that may be more important.

Strategize

After creating and organizing a to-do list, you can see the bigger picture and come up with a strategy for getting everything completed on time and on budget.

Quickly Reschedule

Having a to do list helps you better deal with situations. If an appointment suddenly gets cancelled at short notice or extra time has been made available when some task gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reschedule and continue working with no disruption.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so little time to do it in. Creating a to-do list allows you to work on urgent things that have to get done immediately, and reschedule items that can be worked on later. This can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and relieve some of the stress you may be feeling.

Better Work Delegation

To-do lists help you better assign work to others. This is also important when collaborating within a team (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. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work towards completing the tasks on the list and your business efficiency and productivity will improve.

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

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

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin URL

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

Description

This WordPress plugin lets you easily add a customizable to do list to your WordPress website or blog.

Features

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

You can configure Cleverness To Do List to assign private to-do lists for each user, 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 offers a number of different settings. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to-do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings 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 manage your list and your to do lists are also displayed on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to do list items on your blog. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessible through the back-end admin section.

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

Plugin Installation

Log into your WP dashboard area, and in the menu select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the ‘Settings’ screen by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

Let’s configure the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

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

• To-Do List Settings – The options in this tab let you specify the plugin’s main 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 area is where you can set up 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 review 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 gets 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 create ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

Private categories are not visible using sidebar 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 are viewed. There are 3 to-do list views available:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to be able 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 choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how 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 lets you display which of your users has added an item to the to-do list.

Note: This setting only works 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 your to-do items …

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 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 to-do list items 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 that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

For more details about using this plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Multi-Author Publishing Plugin

Once you are done configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

After you have configured the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

This screen lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to users and perform plugin database maintenance.

Let’s take you 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 …

You can configure the following settings 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 relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize labels for highest, middle (normal) and lowest priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs will display on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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

If you have chosen either ‘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 settings can be configured in this section:

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

If this option is enabled, you can display to-do items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section (Administrator displays the type of users that can be assigned items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a role, then leave its check box unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled, WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want emails sent out to users.

Note: If you disable this option, 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 categories in the subject of your emails.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays 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 email notices. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you want 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 when a new item has been assigned in 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

This area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself …

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

The following tasks can be performed:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files yourself, then consider getting assistance from a WordPress professional, or use backup plugins. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to automate file and data backups here:

• Backup, Copy And Protect Your WordPress Website With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen Individual List, the only permission applicable in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you plan to configure 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 of 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 permit non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s go through the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can enable 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 allows the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This permits the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to delegate 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 enables the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do 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 need to transfer data from one website to another, or export your data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can import or export your 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 download the data in plain text format to a storage medium (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 admin menu and choosing Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘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 save 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 in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to begin create and edit to do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

This brings you to the ‘To-Do List’ page …

How To Add New To-Do Items

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 to-do items to your list using the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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 will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

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

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

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 have selected a list type that allows you to assign tasks to 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 After adding a new item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

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

Editing And Deleting To-Do 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 configuration plugin settings (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

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

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin offers added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and add lists to any page or post using shortcodes.

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 your to-do list to appear …

Configure the widget settings and click ’Save’ …

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

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Short Codes

You can also add lists and checklists on your site with shortcodes.

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

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

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

The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use short codes to display lists and checklists on your content.

Once you know what type of information you want to display on your site, open up a new post or page and either type or paste the shortcode into the content editor …

Publish your page or post and you will see the list showing exactly where you have inserted the shortcode …

Visit the plugin website here to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

***

***