How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

When you run a hectic business or manage any kind of project that involves people collaborating, time always seems to be in short supply.

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

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with regular content and things can start becoming unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, delegate responsibilities to others efficiently.

One simple “tried and true” tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to take control is to use a “to do” list.

The Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to do” list can help you monitor your progress as you work to get projects completed. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or just serve as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Think More Clearly

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

Prioritize Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can gain a better perspective on what is truly urgent vs what is not, and what tasks need to be completed first.

Quickly Reschedule

Using to do lists let you better handle events. If a meeting gets cancelled at short notice or extra time is made available because a task got completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and reschedule and keep working with no loss of focus.

Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability allows excuses to creep in and impact your productivity.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Ticking items off a to-do list not only makes you feel more positive, motivated and in-control, it also lets you relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is being completed and that things are moving forward.

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

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

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add a to do list to WordPress to help your team get things done  faster and more efficiently using a great little plugin for WordPress 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.

Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To-Do List with private to-do lists for each user, to have all users share a 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 specific users (this includes emailing a new to do item 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 display 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 lists and your to do lists can also appear on a dashboard widget.

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

If you plan to run a multi-author blog you can use the plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post planners if you also install the Post Planner plugin.

Plugin Installation

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

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s configure the plugin …

How To Configure The Plugin

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

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

Let’s now configure each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do list into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

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

This allows you to 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 using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how your lists will be viewed. You can choose from 3 types of to-do list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets each user create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets users share the same to-do list.
• Master – Select this option 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 configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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 lets you display which of your members has added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

Enabling this option 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 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

Enable this option to display content in your 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, from the same developer that helps to make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

To learn more this WordPress plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

After you are done configuring your options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

After you have configured the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

In this area you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and carry out database maintenance tasks.

Let’s take you 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 …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Date Format

Here you can specify how to display dates in 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 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, middle (normal) and low items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs will show on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date your to-do list was added will display on your table of items …

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 to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option lets you 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) will display 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 items. Leave the check box unticked for any roles that you don’t want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

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

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to send out emails to users.

Note: If this option is disabled, skip the 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-do categories added to the subject of your emails.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display 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 to users. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you would like to display as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type into this field a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users when new items have been assigned in 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 area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area itself without the need to log into your web server …

This is useful if, for example, you notice that todo items you have deleted are still showing on your site.

You can perform the following tasks:

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

Actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable 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 help, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform automated WordPress backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate And Protect Your WP Websites With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen Individual List, the only permission applicable for 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 would like users to be able to perform for each option …

The 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 authorize non-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Here is a description of the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

This permits the chosen 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 items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This permits the chosen 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

Here you can enable 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 useful. For example, you may need to transfer data from an existing list to another website, or store your list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Use this section to import and export your list data 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 download and save your data as plain text to a storage medium …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …

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

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

Your file will be imported.

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing your lists.

How To Use The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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 …

Adding New To Do Items To Your List

There are several 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 dashboard bar …

You can also add new to-do items in 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 contains many items, as the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

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

Depending on the way you have configured your plugin settings, some options may not display when when you add 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 allows you to assign items to specific users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …

You can also assign items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

Once the new item has been added, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat the above process to add new 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 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 an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to do list, users can view the list inside their own WP dashboard …

When users assigned with completing an item tick the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and add a list to content inside a post or page using short codes.

Widgets

To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ page (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the location in your sidebar menu where you would like your to-do list to show …

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

Your list will appear wherever you have placed the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Plugin Shortcodes

You can also create to-do lists and checklists to your site using shortcodes.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your admin menu …

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

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

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

Once you know what type of information you would like to add to your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the short code inside the content editor …

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

To download this plugin, go here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add to-do lists in WordPress.

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