How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

As a business owner or busy team leader, time is always in short supply.

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

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website updated with fresh content and everything can start to become unmanageable and overwhelming.

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

One simple “tried and true” tool that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to regain control is to use a “to do” list.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list helps you track your progress when trying to complete tasks. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of tasks that need doing today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Free The Brain

Creating a to do list means that you won’t have to try and remember stuff or store extra information inside your brain. Once things are jotted down on a to-do list, your head is free to process other information and you can focus on things that are more important to you.

Better Manage Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time. You can develop a better perspective on what is more important vs what’s not, and what tasks have to be done first.

Document Your Work

To-do lists allow you to retain documented logs of what has been done. You can use this as evidence of work done to employers or clients, or just as a way of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

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 prioritize important items that need to get done within the time you have available, and reschedule non-urgent tasks that can be addressed at a later time. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to alleviate some of the stress you (and your team) may be feeling.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Ticking items off a to-do list not only makes you feel more productive, motivated and in-control, it also lets you stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that work is indeed getting done and that progress is being made.

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 increases productivity and efficiency in your business.

What about using to do lists on your website?

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to add a to-do list to your WP website or blog to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to do list WordPress 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 plugin features listed below will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.

You can set up the plugin 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 assign to do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to-do items to assigned users) and optionally to have assigned items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your list and the to-do list 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 two short codes for front-end administration of the list. Management of categories is restricted to the back-end.

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

Installing The Plugin

Log into your WordPress dashboard section, and select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The ‘Settings’ screen can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ area …

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

Setting Up The Plugin

The Settings area is divided into 4 sections:

• To-Do List Settings – The options in this area let you specify the plugin’s main settings.
• Advanced Settings – This area lets you customize To-Do lists, assign tasks to other users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – In this tab you can set up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types.
• Import/Export – This area lets you export and import 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 your list into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item gets added to the To-Do List menu …

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

You can set up ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

Categories set to ‘private’ are not visible using sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how your lists are viewed. There are 3 to-do list views:

• Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Use this option if you want all users to be able to share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create one master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to sort list items.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you display which users have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for to-do items.

Show Deadline

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

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, the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WP 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 list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a collaborative website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, developed by the same author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Go here to learn more this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Multi-Author Publishing Plugin For WordPress

After you have finished configuring your plugin options in this section, 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 continue …

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This section lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and carry out 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 area you can customize your To Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates in your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, see the date 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 …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, item IDs will display on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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

If you have chosen ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the settings in this section and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following options 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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays tasks 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

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

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

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the remaining 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 show categories in the email subject.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option 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. Enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Type in the email address that you would like to display as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be sent out automatically to users whenever new items have been assigned 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 section you can carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area …

This function 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:

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

Any actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be reversed. 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 site manually, then get professional WordPress support, or use a WordPress backup plugin. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Copy & Protect Your WordPress Websites And Blogs 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 setting that applies in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you are configuring user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to have access to for each option …

By default, general capabilities for 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 make sure that you only authorize non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings for the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

This setting allows 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

This option enables the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the selected capability to delegate 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 allows the chosen capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option enables the chosen 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 an existing list to another website, or export your data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Now you can easily export or import your to-do list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

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

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your 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 the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

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

Locate the file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

After configuring all of the plugin settings, you can start creating and editing your to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress admin, then go to the menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Add New To Do Items

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

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

You can also add new to-do items to your list from the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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 contains many items, since the link is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

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, enter appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the item to your list …

Note: If you have chosen a list type that lets you assign tasks 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 remove users) …

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

Repeat the above process to add new items to your list …

Edit And Remove To Do Items From Your List

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

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

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

When a user assigned with the item completes the task and ticks the item checkbox …

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

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your website using widgets, and display lists on any post or page using short codes.

Widgets

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 show …

Configure the settings on the widget and click ’Save’ to update your settings …

The list will now display where the ‘to-do-list’ widget was placed (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use s

Short Codes

You can also display lists on your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your 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 and checklists on your content.

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

After publishing your post or page, you should see the list displayed exactly where you added the shortcode …

For more information about this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• 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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