How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

If you are running a hectic business or managing other people, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to end.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with new content and things can start to feel unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, you need to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.

A ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you keep track of your progress as you complete projects. Your to-do list can be quite detailed or specific, or serve as a concise reminder of tasks that need to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Create Order

Having a to-do list helps you create order, keep things organized and achieve goals sooner.

Save Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time better. You can gain a clearer perspective on what’s more important vs what isn’t, and what steps need to be completed first.

Keep Documented Work Logs

A to do list allows you to retain documented logs of what has been done. You can use this as evidence of work done to employers or clients, or simply as a means of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Accountability

With no accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and take over your productivity.

Sense Of Accomplishment

Crossing items off to do lists not only makes you feel more positive, motivated and in-control, it also allows you to stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that work is indeed getting done and that milestones are being reached.

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

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

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

Cleverness To Do List

Download URL

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

Plugin Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Plugin Features

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

The shared to do list option offers different settings. You can delegate to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to assigned users) and optionally to have assigned items only viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings available to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to help you manage your list and your to do list is also displayed on the dashboard widget.

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

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

Installing The Plugin

Log into your WP dashboard area, and choose Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the entry in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ section …

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

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings area is divided into four sections:

• To-Do List Settings – The options in this section let you specify the plugin’s main settings.
• Advanced Settings – Here you can customize To Do lists, assign tasks to other users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – The options in this tab let you set up user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group List types.
• Import/Export – Here you can import and export your to-do plugin and list data 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: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item gets added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This allows you to add categories to 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’ are not visible using widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how your lists will be viewed. There are 3 kinds of list views available:

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Select this option to create 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 set 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 choose Category, Alphabetical or ID, Category, ID or Alphabetical options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

If enabled, you can display which of your users has 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 to-do items.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to specify deadlines for your to-do tasks …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can 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 WordPress 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

If this option is 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 site 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 …

To learn more this plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Multi-Author Publishing Plugin

When you have finished configuring your plugin options in this section, remember to 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 …

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This section lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and perform 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen allows you to customize your To-Do List …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

In this area you can specify how to display dates on your to-do 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

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

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, the item’s ID show on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date the to-do list was added displays on the 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 settings in this section and assign 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 set this option to ‘Yes’ for the settings below it to work.

Show a User Only the To-Do Items Assigned to Them

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled will display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Author to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then leave its check box unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends 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 you disable this option, you can skip the other settings 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

If you don’t want to display categories in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option lets you display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, your site has several 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. Enter the name of your company, 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” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users when new items have been added 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

In this area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data inside your plugin settings area without the need to access your web server …

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

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

• Delete Tables – Remove custom database tables that you no longer use.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all of your 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 we recommend backing up your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then consider getting professional WordPress support, or use backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Duplicate And Keep Your WordPress Web Sites 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 Individual List, the only item applicable for this section is the View To-Do List permission …

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 …

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 allowed 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 tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit 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

This option enables the chosen capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This enables the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This allows 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

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

Here you can permit 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 site to another, or store the 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 and export your list 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 download and save your data as plain text to a storage device …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your 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 – posts, pages, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click the ‘Download Export File’ button to save 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 …

Select the file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you are ready to begin create and edit your lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

Adding New To-Do Items To Your List

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

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

You can also add new to-do items to your list inside your 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 send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of 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, enter appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the new item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign items to 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 remove a user) …

Once you have added the item, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat the above process to continue adding items to your to-do list …

Edit And Delete To-Do Items

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

Depending on your configuration settings (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When the user assigned with completing an item clicks on the item check box …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and insert lists into any page or post using shortcodes.

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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you would like the list to display …

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

The to-do list will display wherever the widget has been inserted (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Plugin Short Codes

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you create lists and checklists on 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 your dashboard menu …

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

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

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

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

Publish your post or page and you will see the list displayed where you added the short code …

To download this plugin, visit this site:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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