How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

If you are a business owner or busy project manager, there never seems to be enough time to get everything done.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, project 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 to get done 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 updated with regular content and things can start becoming unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, it’s important to be able to organize and manage your day.

A ”tried and true” method 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 helps you track your progress as you work towards completing tasks. Your to do list can be quite detailed and specific, or serve as a concise 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:

Think Clearly

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

Strategize

By creating and organizing your to do list, you can view the bigger picture and formulate a strategy for getting things completed on budget and on time.

Keep Documented Work Logs

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

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also let excuses creep in and impact your productivity.

Improved Collaboration

Using to-do lists and other project management tools is essential for working with other people on some of your larger or more complex projects.

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, how to add a to do list to WordPress.

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to add to-do lists to 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 plugin lets you easily add a customizable to do list to WordPress.

Plugin Features

Note: the plugin features described below will be 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 item completions.

The shared to-do list option has a variety of settings available. You can assign to do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to do item to assigned users) and optionally to have assigned 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 list and the to-do list 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 blog. There are 2 short codes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessed through 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 editors if you also install the Post Planner plugin for WordPress from the same developer.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

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

In the Install Plugins section, type in “cleverness” into the search field and hit Enter on your keyboard …

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

Activate the plugin …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ area …

The section below shows you how to configure the plugin …

Configuring The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

• To-Do List Settings – This section lets you specify the main plugin settings.
• Advanced Settings – This section is where you can customize 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 Group and Master List types.
• Import/Export – In this area you can export and import your to-do plugin and list data settings.

Let’s now review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

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

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

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

List View

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

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

Show Added By

If enabled, you can display which users on your site have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

This option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

If enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in your to-do list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author site or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same plugin developer that helps to make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Go here to learn more this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner

When you have finished configuring your plugin options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

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

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 in your to-do 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 the labels for highest, middle and lowest (low) priority items …

Items prioritized as “important” are color-coded in red and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), item IDs will show on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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 ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this section 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 setting must be set 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 (‘Yes’), you can display 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 section Contributor to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a role, then don’t tick its check box.

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 …

If you don’t want to send out emails to users, then leave this option disabled.

Note: If this option is disabled, skip the other settings 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 to display categories in the email subject.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to show categories in the subject of your emails.

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, you have various 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. You can enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, add a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent out to users when new items have been assigned in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type in 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 operations related to plugin data inside your plugin settings area without the need to log into your server …

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

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data yourself, then consider using professional WordPress support services, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your site backups here:

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

User Permissions

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

If you select Individual List, the only setting applicable 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 want 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 non-admin users should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s go through the settings in this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow the chosen 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 allow the selected capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

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

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable 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

Here you can permit 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 allow the selected 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 need to copy over data from one site to another, or export the data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Here you can export or 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 opens up a window allowing you to download and save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress main 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 the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to a storage device…

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 previously saved to-do list data file and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you are ready to start create and edit your to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

How To Add A New Item To Your To-Do List

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

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

You can also add new to-do items using the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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 already contains many items, since the link is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the page) …

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

Depending on how you have configured your plugin settings, 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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using 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 multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to delete a user) …

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

Repeat the above process to add new items to your 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 how you have set up the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

After creating your to-do list, users can view it inside their own dashboard …

When a user assigned with completing an item clicks on the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and add lists to any post or page using shortcodes.

Using The Plugin Widget

To add to-do lists 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 would like your list to display …

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

The to-do list will display wherever you have inserted the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Shortcodes

The plugin also lets you add lists and checklists on your site by inserting short codes into your content.

To access the documentation on using short codes, select 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’ menu entry to access the Shortcode Documentation section …

The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use short codes to display lists on your pages and posts.

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 shortcode into the content editor …

Publish your post or page and you will see the list showing exactly where you entered the shortcode …

Visit the plugin website here for more details about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add a to-do list to your WordPress site.

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