How To Create A To Do List In WordPress

There is never enough time to get everything done, especially if you are a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with new content and things can quickly start to feel unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, keep track of your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, delegate tasks and responsibilities to team members effectively.

A ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to take control is to use “to-do” lists.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

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

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

Think More Clearly

Writing to do lists means you won’t have to try and remember things or store excessive information inside your head. Once tasks are jotted down on a to-do list, your head is free to process information and you can focus on other important things.

Strategize

By creating and organizing your to-do list, you can view the larger picture and formulate a strategic plan to get everything done on budget and on time.

Quickly Reorganize

To-do lists help you better deal with situations. If an appointment gets cancelled at short notice or extra time has been made available when some part of the process gets completed sooner than expected, you can continue moving forward with no loss of focus.

Accountability

Without accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability lets excuses creep in and influence your productivity.

Better Delegation Of Work

A to-do list helps you assign tasks to others better. 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 to do lists, prioritizing tasks and working in a focused way improves your business efficiency and productivity.

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

In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to add a to do list to your WordPress website or blog to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Download URL

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

Plugin Description

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

Features

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

You can configure the plugin to have private to-do lists for each user, 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 provides different settings. You can delegate to do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to do items to the 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 admin backend to help you 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 blog. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is accessible via the back-end.

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

Plugin Installation

From your WordPress admin, go to the menu and choose 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 section and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ area …

The section below shows you how to go through the plugin setup process …

How To Set Up The Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s now review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize 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 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.

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 lets you specify how to-do lists will be viewed. You can choose from three kinds of to-do 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 users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have one 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 list items will be sorted.

If you select 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 of your users has added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can 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 this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WordPress 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display content in to-do lists using paragraphs.

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, from the same developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Visit this site for more information about this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner

When you have finished configuring your plugin options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

After configuring the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

This area lets you 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you customize your To-Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

Here you can 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, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

high priority items are colour-coded in red in your lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option displays item IDs on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will show the date the table of items was added …

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 section and assign to-do items to other users …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option to assign tasks 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 tasks only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section Subscriber) to display 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 you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

If you don’t want to send out emails to users, then leave this option disabled.

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip other 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 display categories in the email subject.

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want categories displayed in 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 allows you to customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Enter 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 new items have been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type 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 of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you carry out database maintenance operations 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 items you have previously deleted are still showing up on your site.

You can perform the following tasks:

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

Any database operations carried out 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 yourself, then consider getting help from a WordPress professional, or use a WordPress backup plugin. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate & Protect Your WordPress Site With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

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

If you plan to configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to be able to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities for 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 authorize non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Here is a description of the settings in 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

Here you can permit the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting allows 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

This option permits the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may decide to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or store the data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can export or import your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

You can export and download your list data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This opens up a new window allowing you to view or save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage device …

In addition to 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 checking ‘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 a storage device…

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

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

Your file will be imported.

Once 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 click on To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Add New Items To Your List

There are several ways to add new items to your to-do list.

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

You can also add a new item 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, since the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin settings, some options may not display when adding new to-do items.

Set up 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have selected a list type that allows you to assign items 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, it 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 To-Do Items

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 (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

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

When a user assigned with completing an item ticks the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and add a list to content inside a page or post using short codes.

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 menu location where you want the list to appear …

Configure the widget settings and click ’Save’ …

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

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

• Using s

Using The Cleverness Plugin Short Codes

You can also add to-do lists and checklists on your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from the WP admin menu …

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

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

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

Once you know what information you would like to add to your site, open up a new post or page and either type or paste the shortcode into the content section …

After publishing your post or page, you should see the list showing where you have added the short code …

Visit this site to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists to your WordPress site or blog.

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