How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

When you are running a hectic business or managing other people, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get things done.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to stop.

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

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to members of your team or staff efficiently.

A proven method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to-do” list.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list helps you track your progress as you work to achieve a certain objective. Your to do list can be detailed and very specific, or just serve 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 More Clearly

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

Better Strategic Planning

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

Quickly Reschedule And Reorganize

To-do lists help you better deal with new situations. If a meeting suddenly gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time becomes available when some task gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize or reschedule and keep working with little to minimal loss of focus.

Stress Less

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the fact that there is so much that needs to get done and so very little time to do it in. Creating a to do list lets you work on urgent things that have to be completed immediately, and push out tasks that can be addressed later. This can help reduce stress.

Delegate Better

A to do list helps you better assign work to others. This is also important if you plan to work on a team-based project (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using to-do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a systematic way and productivity and efficiency in your business will surely improve.

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

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add to do lists to WordPress to help your team get things done  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 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 configure Cleverness To-Do List to assign 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 a specific user (this includes emailing a new to-do item to the assigned user) 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 also included in the front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to do list items on your site. There are two short codes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is accessible via the back-end admin section.

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 own the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Installing The Plugin

From your WP dashboard section, select Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List item in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …

Click “Activate Plugin” …

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

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

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

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

Let’s now take you through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘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 plugin menu …

This lets you add categories that you can use to organize your to-do lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can set up ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your to-do 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 your to-do lists will be viewed. There are 3 list views available:

• Individual – Select this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets users share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. 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 to order your to-do list items.

If you select Category, Alphabetical or ID, Category, ID or Alphabetical options, items will be first sorted by priority.

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you display which members on your site have added an item to the 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 tasks.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify deadlines for to-do tasks …

Show Progress

If enabled, you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP 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

If this option is enabled, automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do list items.

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 to help make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Visit this site to learn more about using this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

After configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

This section lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and carry out plugin database maintenance.

Let’s go through how to configure the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Customize The To-Do List

In this section you can customize your To Do List …

The following options 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 how to format 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, middle (normal) and low priority items …

Highest priority items are colour-coded in red in the lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), the item’s ID appear on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date your to-do list was added shows up on your 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 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 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 items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) will display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then leave its checkbox unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends 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 (‘No’).

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to-do categories added to the email subject.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can 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 email notifications. 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 to display as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

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

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, 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 section allows you to carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area without the need to log into your web server …

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

The tasks below can be performed:

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

Any actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want 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 consider using professional support services, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform complete WordPress file and data backups here:

• Back Up, Copy & Keep Your WP Sites Protected 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 selected Individual List, the only setting applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

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 …

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 non-administrators should only be authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s review the settings for the User Permissions tab:

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 setting allows the chosen capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the selected capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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 enable the chosen capability to delete individual 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 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 decide to transfer data from one website to another, or export your list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Now you can export or import your data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This will open up a window allowing you to download and save the data in plain text format to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, 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 on the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

Importing a list data file is easy. Just click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

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

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

Your file will be imported.

After configuring all plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing your lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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 …

Add New To Do Items To Your List

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

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

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

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

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

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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using 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 a user) …

Once you have added the 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 To-Do Items From Your List

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

Depending on how you have set up the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When a user assigned with an item completes the task and clicks on the item check box …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your site using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a page or post 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 menu location where you would like your to-do list to show …

Configure the widget settings and click ’Save’ …

The to-do list will display where you have added the widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use WordPress Widget

Using Plugin Shortcodes

The plugin also lets you add to-do lists on your site by placing short codes into your content.

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

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

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

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

Once you know what information you would like to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the short code inside the content section …

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

Go here to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can add a to-do list to your WordPress site or blog.

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