How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you are a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to end.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website updated with new content and things can start to feel unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, you need to be able to organize and manage your daily activities.

A simple proven tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to take control is to use “to-do” lists.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help to keep you on track and measure your progress when trying to complete projects. Your to do list can be quite detailed or specific, or serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free Up Resources

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

Save Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time. You can gain a clearer perspective on what’s truly urgent vs what’s not, and what tasks need to be completed first.

Quickly Reschedule And Reorganize

Using to do lists help you better handle sudden situations. If you find that an appointment has been cancelled or extra time becomes available when some aspect of the project gets completed sooner than expected, you can continue moving forward without disruption.

Accountability

Without accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and impact your productivity.

Better Work Delegation

A to-do list helps you better assign work to other people. This is also important if you plan to collaborate with others (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating a to do list, then prioritizing tasks and working in a focused manner improves your business efficiency and productivity.

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

In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to-do lists to WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to do list WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin 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 configure Cleverness To-Do List to have 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 offers a number of settings. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email new to-do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items only viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings available to show 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 lists can also display on the dashboard widget.

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

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

From your WordPress admin section, choose 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 entry in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

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

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The settings screen can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …

The section below shows you how to configure the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ area is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s now configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize lists 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 then 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 to-do lists.

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

List View

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

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

Sort Order

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

If you choose Alphabetical, Category or ID 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 the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you can specify deadlines for to-do items …

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’) lets you display 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

Enable this option to display content in your to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running 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 that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

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

After configuring your plugin options in this section, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

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

Let’s take you 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 lets you 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 todo list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, visit 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 (important), normal and lowest (low) items …

Highest priority items are shown in red and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, item IDs will show on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the date the to-do list was added shows on the 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 settings in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to assign tasks 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 to display 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

Checking the boxes in this section Author displays the type of users that can be assigned items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then leave its check box unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send users an email 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 to-do categories added to the email subject.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want categories added to the email subject.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if you have several project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

This field lets you customize the “From” field when sending out emails. You can 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

Type in a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users whenever a new item has been assigned to 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

In this section you can carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area …

This is useful if, for example, you see that items you have already deleted are still displaying on your site.

You can perform the tasks below in this section:

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

Actions that you perform on your 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 WP database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files manually, then get support from a WordPress professional, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress file and data backups here:

• Back Up, Copy & Keep Your WordPress Site Protected With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you are using 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 would like users 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 working with the Master list type make sure that you only authorize non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s now review the settings for the User Permissions section:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow 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 setting permits the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This permits the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This 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 want to transfer data from one website to another, or store your list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

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

Exporting To-Do List Data

To export and download your to-do list data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This will open up a new window allowing you to view or save your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your admin 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 just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click on the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your hard drive…

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 file and click ‘Open’ …

After your data file has been uploaded to 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 are ready to begin create and edit to do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

How To Add New To-Do Items

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

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

You can also add new to-do items to your list inside 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 send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the page) …

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

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.

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 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 delete users) …

After a new item has been added, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat this process to add 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 earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When users responsible for completing an item tick the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your site using widgets, and add lists to content inside a page or post using short codes.

Widgets

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 the to-do list to display …

Configure the settings on the widget and click ’Save’ …

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

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you display to-do lists on your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

To access the documentation on using short codes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard menu …

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

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

This section explains different ways to configure and use short codes 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 …

Publish your page or post and you should see the list showing exactly where you added the short code …

To download this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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