How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

If you are running a hectic business, time always seems to be in short supply.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never stops.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with new content and everything can start to feel unmanageable and chaotic.

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

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

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list can help you measure your progress when trying to complete tasks. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Think Clearly

Creating a to do list means you don’t have to memorize stuff or clutter your brain with details. Once tasks are written down on a to-do list, your mind is free to process other information and you can focus on more important things.

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time more effectively. You can gain a better perspective on what is truly urgent vs what isn’t, and what steps should be completed first.

Log Your Work

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

Accountability

With no accountability there’s no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability allows excuses to creep in and take over your work day.

Collaboration

Creating to do lists and other project management tools is essential for getting other people involved on some of your larger or more complex projects.

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 systematically and efficiency and productivity in your business will increase.

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

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 URL

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 set up Cleverness To Do List to have private to do lists for individual users, to have all users share your to do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to do list has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email new to do items to assigned users) and optionally to have those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available 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 lists and your to-do lists are also listed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are 2 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 the plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post editors if you also download the Post Planner plugin.

Plugin Installation

Log into your site’s admin and select Plugins > Add New …

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

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List entry in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The ‘Settings’ area 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 go through the plugin configuration process …

Setting Up The Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s now review each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item will be added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This allows you to add categories that can help 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.

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

List View

List View lets you specify how your lists will be viewed. There are 3 types of to do list views available:

• Individual – Selecting this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows 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 items to complete. If you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which users on your site have added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for to-do items.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

If enabled, you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

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

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, 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

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

Advanced Settings

Once you have configured the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

This section lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to users and perform plugin database maintenance.

Let’s step 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 …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates on your todo 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

This section lets you customize your labels for prioritizing highest, middle and lowest items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will display the item’s ID on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option will show the date the To-Do Items table 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 settings in this area and assign to-do items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option 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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays tasks only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Author to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress will automatically send an email to users 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 other items in this section.

Add Category to Subject

If categories are enabled in your plugin settings and you have selected ‘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 subject of your emails.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option lets you display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if your website 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 notifications. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in 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

Add into this field a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent out to users whenever new items have been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, type 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 section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from the plugin settings area without having to log into your server …

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

The tasks below can be performed:

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

Any actions that you perform on the 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 database first.

If you don’t want to do site backups, then consider getting support from a WordPress professional, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to automate file and data backups here:

• Back Up, Clone And Keep Your WordPress Web Sites Protected With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you choose Individual List, the only configurable item that is applicable for this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to be able to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities for 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 make sure that you only allow non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Here is a description of the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

This setting enables 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

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the selected capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This permits the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This option enables 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 site to another, or export your list 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 import or export your list 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 will open up a window allowing you to view or download your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage device …

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 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 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 storage medium…

Importing To-Do List Data

Importing a previously saved to-do 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’ …

Once the data file has been uploaded to your settings area, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

Your file data will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can start creating and editing your lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to-do list, log into your WordPress admin, then scroll down the menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

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

Adding New To Do Items

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

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

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

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

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

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 have chosen a list type that allows you to assign tasks to users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …

You can also assign items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to remove a user) …

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

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

Editing And Removing To Do 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 your configuration plugin settings (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When a user assigned with the item completes the task and ticks 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 added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and add a list to content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

Using The Plugin Widget

To add a to-do list 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 menu where you want your list to show …

Configure the widget settings and click ’Save’ …

The list will appear wherever you have added the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using s

Plugin Short Codes

You can also create lists to your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your WP admin menu …

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists on your content.

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the short code inside the content area …

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

Go here to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add a to-do list in WordPress.

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