How To Create A To Do List In WordPress

There is never enough time to get everything done, especially if you run a fast-paced business or manage other people.

There are so many things to do and remember. You have clients to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with new content and things suddently begin feeling unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, 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 responsibilities to other people effectively.

A proven method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you keep track of your progress as you work towards completing tasks. Your to do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or act as a reminder of tasks that need to be done over a given period of time.

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

See Things More Clearly

Creating a to-do list means that you don’t have to try and remember things or store information inside your mind. Once tasks are recorded 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.

Better Strategic Planning

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you view the larger picture and formulate a strategy to get everything completed efficiently.

Document Your Work

A to do list lets you keep documented logs of what work has been done. This can be used to provide evidence of work to employers or clients, or just as a method of helping you measure your own productivity and efficiency.

Accountability

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

Sense Of Accomplishment

Crossing items off to do lists gives you a sense of accomplishment and allows you to relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is getting done and that things are moving forward.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to-do list, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a systematic way and your business efficiency and productivity will increase.

What about adding a to-do list to your WordPress website?

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to create a to do list in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list 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/

Description

This WordPress plugin lets you easily add to-do lists to a WordPress site.

Features

Note: the 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 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 assign to do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to-do items to assigned users) and optionally to have those items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your lists and the to do list can also appear 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 2 short codes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessible via the back-end admin section.

If you plan to run a multi-author site you can use the to-do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also download a copy of the Post Planner plugin for WordPress.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WP dashboard and in the menu click on 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 tab and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s settings area by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

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

How To Configure The Plugin

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

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

Let’s now review each of these sections.

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 is added to the To-Do List plugin 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.

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

List View

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

• Individual – Choosing this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which of your members has added an item to the 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

Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option lets you display the ‘To-Do List’ menu 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 to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a multi-author website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same plugin developer to help make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

For more details about this plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

After configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This tab lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform 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

Here 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, see the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize labels for highest, normal and low priority items …

Items given the highest priority are color-coded in red in the lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) shows the item’s ID on your to-do 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 area and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option to 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 (‘No’) to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section Author to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the check box unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends 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.

Note: If you disable this option, skip the remaining 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 categories added to the subject of your emails.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, your site has a number of 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. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Enter a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users when a new item has been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, 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 related to plugin data directly from the plugin settings area without the need to log into your web server …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that previously deleted to-do items are still appearing on your site.

You can perform the tasks below:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to perform database maintenance in this section, then remember to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then use the services of a professional WordPress provider, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:

• Backup, Copy & Protect Your WP Web Site With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you select Individual List, the only item that is applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

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 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 working with the Master list type non-administrator users should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s review 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

Here you can permit the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This permits the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the chosen capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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 chosen capability to delete individual 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 enable 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 want to copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or store your data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Now you can easily import and export your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a new window allowing you to download and save the data in plain text format to a storage medium …

In addition to 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 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

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’ …

Once uploading your data file, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

Your file will be imported.

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to start create and edit to-do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

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

Add New To-Do Items

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

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

You can also add new to-do items 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 will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

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

Depending on the way 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 new to-do item …

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 assign multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to delete a user) …

Once you have added the new item, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat this process to continue adding items to your to-do list …

Editing And Deleting Items

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

Depending on your plugin configuration settings (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 it when logged into their WordPress user dashboard …

When the user assigned with the item completes the task and clicks on the item check box …

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

And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin screen …

Additional Information

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

Using The 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 menu where you want the list to appear …

Configure the widget settings and click ’Save’ …

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

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Shortcodes

You can also create 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 the 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 …

This section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists on your content.

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

Publish your page or post and you should see the list showing where you have added the shortcode …

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

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

***

***