How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

Time is always in short supply, especially if you run a growing business or manage other people.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never stops.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with regular content and things can quickly start feeling unmanageable and overwhelming.

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

A proven method that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to take control is to use a “to-do” list.

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to-do” list helps you track your progress as you complete tasks. Your to do list can be detailed and very specific, or serve as a concise reminder of the things that need to be done over a given period of time.

Here are just a few of the many benefits of using to do lists:

Free The Brain

Writing to do lists means you don’t have to memorize stuff or store extra information inside your brain. Once things are recorded on a to-do list, your brain is free to process information and you can focus on things that are more important to you.

Be More Strategic

Creating and organizing to do lists helps you break your workload into doable tasks and formulate a strategy to get things completed effectively.

Document Your Work

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

Stress Relief

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and very little time to do it in. Creating to do lists let you prioritize important things that need to get done within a reasonable timeframe, and push out items that can be worked on at a later time. This can help you stress less.

Better Work Delegation

A to-do list helps you better assign work to other people. This is also important when collaborating 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. Creating to do lists, then prioritizing tasks and working towards completing the items listed increases productivity and efficiency in your business.

What about using a to-do list on your WordPress website or blog?

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add a to do list to a WordPress website or blog to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Download The 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 each user, to have all users share a to-do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to do list option provides different settings. You can delegate to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included in the front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to do list items on your site. There are two shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories 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 install a copy of the Post Planner plugin for WordPress from the same developer.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

Log into your WP admin area and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

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

Plugin Configuration

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area is divided into 4 tabs:

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

Let’s now review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

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 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 create ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

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

List View

List View allows you to specify how lists are viewed. You can choose 3 list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to have 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 (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled, you can display which members have added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

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

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 (‘Yes’) displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

This menu option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

If enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in your to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a collaborative 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 that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Visit this site to learn more about this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Multi-Author Publishing Plugin

After configuring your plugin options in this section, 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 to continue …

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

In this tab you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform 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

Here you can specify how to display dates on your todo list (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

In this section you can customize your labels for prioritizing important, middle and lowest (low) items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will show the items’ IDs on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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 section and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) 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

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section (Administrator displays the type of users that can be assigned items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled, WordPress will automatically send 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 categories displayed in the email subject.

If you don’t want to-do categories to display the subject of your emails, 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 is a useful option if 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 emails. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Enter the email address that you want showing as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent to users whenever a new item has been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Enter 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 allows you to perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that old items are still listed on your site.

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are comfortable to perform database maintenance in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data yourself, then hire a professional service, or use WordPress backup plugins. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:

• Backup, Copy & Keep Your WP Websites Protected With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you are using Individual List, the only configurable option that is applicable in 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 want 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 make sure that you only authorize non-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s review the settings for this tab:

View To-Do List

This option enables 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

Here you can allow the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option enables 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 option allows the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This setting permits the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may want to transfer data from one site to another, or store your data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Use this section to easily export or import your 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 in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress admin menu and selecting 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 a storage medium…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a list data file, click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Locate the previously saved to-do list data file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to do list, go to your WordPress admin menu and click on To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

How To Add New To-Do Items To Your List

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

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

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

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

Depending on how you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when adding new items to your to-do list.

Select the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate 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 have chosen a list type that lets you assign responsibilities over 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 remove users) …

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

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

Editing And Removing 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 configured your plugin settings (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

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

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

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin page …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and add a list to content inside a post or page using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness Plugin Widget

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 menu location where you would like your to-do list to appear …

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

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

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin also lets you add lists to your site using short codes.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, click on 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 entry to access the Shortcode Documentation screen …

The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists and checklists on your content.

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

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

To learn more about this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add to-do lists to your WordPress site.

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