How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

When you are running a hectic business, there is never enough time to get everything done.

There is just too much to do and remember. You have clients to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never stops.

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 everything can quickly start to feel unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, it’s important to be able to organize and manage your day.

One proven 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.

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list helps you monitor your progress as you work towards certain objectives. Your to do list can be detailed or specific, or just serve as a reminder of tasks that need doing over a given period of time.

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

Free Your Brain

Creating a to do list means that you don’t have to try to memorize things or store information inside your brain. Once tasks are jotted down on a to-do list, your head 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 down your workload into doable tasks and create a strategy for getting tasks completed on time and on budget.

Log Your Work

To-do lists allow you to retain documented logs of what work has been done. This can be used to provide evidence of work to clients or employers, or just as a means of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

Without 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 feeling of accomplishment and allows you to stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that the workload 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 things systematically and your business efficiency and productivity will improve.

What about adding to do lists to your website?

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to create to-do lists in WordPress to help your business grow  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to do list WordPress 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 provides users with a to do list feature.

Plugin Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List to assign private to-do lists for individual users, to have all users share a to-do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to do list option includes different settings. You can delegate to do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to-do item to users) and optionally to have those items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available 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 admin backend to manage your list and the to do lists can also be displayed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are 2 short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessed 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 install the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

In your site’s admin section, select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The settings section can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ page …

The section below shows you how to set up the plugin …

Plugin Setup

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

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

Let’s now take you through each of these tabs.

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 is added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This allows you to add categories to your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can set up ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

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

List View

List View lets you specify how your lists are viewed. There are three kinds of list views:

• Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you set 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 Alphabetical, ID or Category, ID, Category or Alphabetical options, items will be first sorted by priority.

Show Added By

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which members on your site have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If enabled, you will be able to specify deadlines for to-do items …

Show Progress

Enabling this option 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 will display in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

If enabled, automatic paragraphs are used to display content in 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 author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Visit this site to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

Once you have finished configuring your options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

After you have configured the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

In this tab you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items 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

This section lets you 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, see the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

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

Items prioritized as “important” are colour-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’) will show the item’s ID on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

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

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

If you have selected ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this section and assign items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

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

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section (Administrator to display the type of users that can be assigned 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

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

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

Note: If this option is disabled, you can 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 categories added to the subject of your emails.

If you don’t want to show categories in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled.

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 multiple 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. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, add a subject field for the email that will be sent out automatically to users when new items have been assigned 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 carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself …

This is useful if, for example, you see that previously deleted todo items are still appearing on your site.

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

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

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

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then get professional WordPress help services, or use backup plugins. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:

• Back Up, Clone And Keep Your WP Web Site Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

If you are using the Individual List type, the only configurable option that applies in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you plan to configure 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 of each user role are set 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-administrators should only be authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s review the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

This allows the selected capability to view items in the dashboard widget and on the To-Do List page under the ‘Tools’ section.

Complete To-Do Item Capability

This permits the chosen capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to assign 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 selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This setting 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 copy over data from one website to another, or export your list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can import or export your to-do 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 opens up a new window allowing you to download and save the data in plain text format to an internal or external hard drive …

As well as exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard menu and choosing Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘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 your hard drive…

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 file and click ‘Open’ …

After uploading your data file, click on the ‘Import Settings’ button …

Your file data will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can begin create and edit to-do 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’ page …

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 to-do items to your list from your dashboard toolbar …

You can also add new items to your to-do list in the 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 already contains many items, as the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

The methods shown above 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, add appropriate values and 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 chosen 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 remove a user) …

Once you have added an item, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat the above process to keep adding new items to your to-do 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 an email notification in their inboxes …

Once you have created your to-do list, users can view the list when logged into their user dashboard …

When users responsible for the item complete the task and click on the item check box …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and add lists to any post or page 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 location in your sidebar (or footer) menu where you would like the list to show …

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

Your list will now display on your site where you have added the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use s

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

You can also create lists and checklists on your site by placing short codes into your content.

To access the documentation on using short codes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard 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 documentation section explains various ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists and checklists on your content.

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

After publishing your post or page, you will see the list displayed in the location where you entered the shortcode …

For more information about this plugin, go here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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