How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

If you are running a growing business, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything done.

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 put out, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never stops.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with regular content and everything can quickly start to become unmanageable and out of control.

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

One simple proven tool that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to do” list helps you track your progress when trying to complete tasks. Your to do list can be quite detailed and very specific, or act as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Think More Clearly

Creating a to do list means you won’t have to try to memorize things or store unnecessary information inside your brain. Once things are jotted down on a to-do list, your mind is free to process information and you can focus on other important things.

Prioritize Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time more effectively. You can develop a better perspective on what’s truly urgent vs what is not, and what steps have to be completed first.

Reschedule Quickly

Having a to-do list helps you better cope with events. If you find that an appointment gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time has been made available because a task was completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with minimal loss of focus.

Ensures Accountability

With no accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and impact your productivity.

Better Delegation

To-do lists help you better delegate work to others. This is also important if you plan to collaborate with others (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 in a systematic way improves your business efficiency and productivity.

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

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to easily create a to-do list in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to do list plugin for WordPress 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 described below will be 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 a to do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to-do list option provides a number of settings. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to-do item to the user) and optionally to have assigned items be 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 help you manage your lists and the to-do list is also listed 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 short codes for front-end administration of the list. Management of categories is accessed through the back-end.

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

How To Install The Plugin

Log into your WP dashboard section, and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin …

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

Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the ‘Settings’ section by choosing 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 setup process …

How To Configure The Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s go through 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 is 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 lists.

Private categories are not visible when using widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how your lists are viewed. You can choose from three list views:

• Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – Select this option to have one 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 configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 (‘Yes’) displays completion dates for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 WordPress 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display content in to-do lists using paragraphs.

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 …

To learn more about using this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Multi-Author Publishing Plugin

When you have configured your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

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

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

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

Here you can 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

Here you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest (important), middle (normal) and lowest items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, item IDs display on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date the to-do list was added shows on the To-Do Items table …

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

If you have selected either ‘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

If enabled, you can assign to-do items 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 tasks only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When this option is enabled, WordPress will automatically send 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 you disable this option, 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

If you don’t want to display to-do categories in the subject of your emails, 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, your site has multiple project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

Use this field to customize the “From” field when sending out email notices. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in 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

Add a subject field for the email that will be automatically distributed to users when new items have been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Add 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 carry out database maintenance tasks related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area without having to access your server …

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

You can perform the tasks below in this section:

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

Any database operations carried out from this screen cannot be undone. 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 manually, then get support from a WordPress professional, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to automate WordPress file and data backups here:

• Backup, Copy And Keep Your WP Websites And Blogs Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types …

If you choose the Individual List type, the only configurable option applicable in this section is the View To-Do List option …

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

The default general capabilities for each user role are configured 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-administrator users should only be authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

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

View To-Do List

Here you can permit 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 enable the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to assign items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This setting 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 permits the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit 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 useful. For example, you may need to copy over data from one website to another, or store the data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Now you can export and import 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 will open up a new window allowing you to download and save your data as plain text to a storage device (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 main 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 – posts, pages, 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 storage medium…

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 …

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

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

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can start 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 select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Add New To Do Items

There are several ways to add new to-do items.

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

You can also add a new item to your to-do list using 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 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) …

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 when you add new to-do items.

Configure the options you have enabled for your to-do items, add appropriate 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 selected a list type that lets you assign responsibilities over items 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 you have added a new item item, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to continue adding new items to your list …

Editing And Deleting Items From Your List

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to do list, users can view the list when logged into their own user dashboard …

When users responsible for completing an item tick the item check box …

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

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin area …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your website using widgets, and display a list on any page or post 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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you want your to-do list to display …

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

Your to-do list will now display wherever you have inserted the widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

To learn more about using WordPress widgets, see the tutorial below:

• Using WordPress Widget

Plugin Short Codes

You can also add to-do lists on your site with shortcodes.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the WordPress admin menu …

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

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

The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists and checklists on your pages and posts.

Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the shortcode into the content area …

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

Visit the plugin website here to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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