Creating A To-Do List In WordPress

If you plan to run a fast-paced business or manage a team, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website updated with regular content and everything can start to feel unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, keep track of your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to members of your team efficiently.

A ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to regain control is to use “to do” lists.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help you monitor your progress when trying to achieve a certain objective. Your to do list can be detailed or specific, or act as a reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

Free Up Resources

Writing to do lists means that you won’t have to keep remembering things or clutter your head with details. Once things are written down on a to-do list, your mind is free to process information and you can focus on things that are more important to you.

Better Strategic Planning

Creating and organizing to do lists helps you break down larger projects into doable tasks and formulate a strategy for getting everything done effectively.

Document Your Work

A to do list lets you keep documented logs of the work you have done. You can use this as evidence of work done to clients or employers, or just as a means of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Stress Less

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many things to do and so very little time to do it all in. Creating to-do lists let you work on important things that have to be completed immediately, and push out items that can be addressed later. This can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Collaborate Better With Others

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 to do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to-do lists, then prioritizing tasks and working systematically increases productivity and efficiency in your business.

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 WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Download URL

http://wordpress.org/plugins/cleverness-to-do-list/

Plugin Description

This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Plugin Features

Note: the features listed below will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.

You can configure the plugin to have private to do lists for each user, 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 includes different settings. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. 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 help you manage your list and the to do list is also listed 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 two short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is restricted to 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.

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WP admin and choose 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 entry in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

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

When you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Setup

The Settings area is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s now review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

This allows you to add categories that you can 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 lists.

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

List View

List View allows you to specify how your lists will be viewed. There are 3 list views available:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets each user create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets users share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to create 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 list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you 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

If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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 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, developed by the same author to help make the process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

To learn more about this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – Multi-Author Publishing Plugin For WordPress

When you have configured your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

After configuring the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

In this section you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to users and carry out 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

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 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 date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for highest, middle (normal) and lowest priority items …

Items prioritized as “important” display in red in the lists 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 display on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date your to-do list was added shows up on your table of items …

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

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

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If this option is enabled, you can 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 items 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

Checking the boxes in this section Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress automatically sends 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 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 show categories in the subject of your emails.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enabling this option displays 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

This field allows you to customize the “From” field when sending out email notifications. 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” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add into this field 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 area you can carry out database maintenance tasks related to plugin data directly from the plugin settings area …

This is useful if, for example, you notice that old to-do items are still showing up on your site.

The following tasks can be performed:

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

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

If you don’t want to back up your site manually, then consider hiring a professional service, or use a WordPress backup plugin. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your file and data backups here:

• Back Up, Copy And Keep Your WP Sites Protected With Backup Creator WP 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 applies 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 want users to have access to for each option …

By default, general capabilities of each user role are 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 authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s review the settings in this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can enable 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 option permits the chosen capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can permit 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 setting allows the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This permits 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 an existing list to another website, or export your list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Here you can easily import and 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 will open up a new window allowing you to download and save your data in plain text format to an internal or external drive …

As well as exporting 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 selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to an internal or external hard drive…

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 …

Locate the previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

After configuring all plugin settings, you can begin create and edit to-do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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 …

How To Add New To-Do Items To Your List

There are several ways to add new to-do items to your 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, as the link is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

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, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add new to-do items.

Select the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter 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 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 assign multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to remove a user) …

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

Repeat the above process to keep adding new items to your list …

Edit And Remove Items From Your List

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons next to each item under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

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

When users responsible for an item complete the task and tick the item checkbox …

… the item is removed from the “To-Do” list …

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and add a list to content inside a post or page using short codes.

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 (or footer) menu where you would like your list to display …

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

Your to-do list will appear wherever you have added the widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Plugin Short Codes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you create lists and checklists on your site using short codes.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your admin menu …

Click the ‘Help’ tab on the top right hand 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 pages and posts.

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

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

For more details about this plugin, go here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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