How To Create A To Do List In WordPress

There never seems to be enough time to get things done, especially when you run a hectic business or manage any kind of project that requires people to work as a group.

There are so many things to do and remember. You have clients to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never seems to stop.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website updated with regular content and everything suddenly begins to feel unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, track your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to others effectively.

One proven method 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.

The Benefits Of Using A To-Do List

A “to do” list helps you monitor your progress when trying to complete projects. Your to do list can be quite detailed and specific, or act as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Free The Brain

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

Prioritize Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and manage your workload more effectively. You can gain a better perspective on what’s truly urgent vs what isn’t, and what tasks need to be done first.

Quickly Reschedule Or Reorganize

Using to-do lists let you better handle changes in circumstances. If you suddenly find that a meeting gets cancelled at short notice or extra time becomes available when some task gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and continue working with minimal disruption.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so very little time to do it in. Creating a to do list lets you prioritize urgent tasks that have to be completed immediately, and push out non-urgent tasks that can be worked on later. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to alleviate some of the stress you may be feeling.

Sense Of Accomplishment

Ticking items off a to-do list gives you a sense of accomplishment and allows you to relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is being completed and that progress is being made.

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

What about using to do lists on your website or blog?

In this detailed tutorial we are going to show you how to add to-do lists to WordPress to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Download URL

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

Plugin Description

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

Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List with 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 option includes different settings. You can delegate to-do items to a specific user (this includes emailing a new to do item to users) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings available to display 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 lists and your to do lists can also display on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode 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 blog you can use this plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also install a copy of the Post Planner plugin.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WordPress admin and choose Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin after installing it …

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 settings screen by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s go through the plugin setup process …

Plugin Setup

The Settings area is divided into 4 tabs:

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

Let’s configure 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: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item gets added to the To-Do List 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 lists.

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

List View

List View allows you to specify how to-do lists are viewed. There are three list views available:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets each user 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 – Select this option 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 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 select Alphabetical, ID or Category, ID, Category or Alphabetical options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

Enabling this option lets you display which of your users has added an item to your to-do list.

Note: This setting only applies when ‘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 to-do items …

Show Progress

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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

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 your to-do lists.

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 plugin author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more this plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Multi-Author Publishing Plugin For WordPress

Once you have configured your options, 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 …

In this screen you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.

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 …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you 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, visit the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize labels for important, middle and lowest priority items …

Highest priority items are shown in red and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display item IDs on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date your to-do list was added will show on the To-Do Items table …

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 area and assign to-do items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to 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 assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) will 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. 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, 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want categories to show the email subject.

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to display to-do categories in the subject of your emails.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if you have 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 the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

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

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type in a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent to users whenever new items have been added 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area without the need to access your server …

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

The tasks below can be performed:

• Delete Tables – Delete custom database tables that you no longer use.
• 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 carry out database operations in this section, then remember to backup your WP database first.

If you don’t want to do manual backups, then consider using professional WordPress assistance services, or use backup plugins. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Backup, Copy & Protect Your WordPress Websites And Blogs With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

If you have selected Individual List, the only configurable option that is applicable in 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 perform for each option …

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

Let’s now review the settings in the User Permissions section:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit 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 enable the chosen capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the selected capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This setting enables the selected 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 copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or store your data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Use this section to easily export and import your data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

You can export and download your data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This opens up a new window allowing you to download and save your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to an internal or external storage medium …

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

You can include to-do list data in an 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 a storage device…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a previously saved to-do list data file, click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Locate the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to begin creating and editing your to-do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

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

Adding A New Item To Your To-Do List

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

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

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

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

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

Select the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the to-do item …

Note: If you have selected a list type that lets you assign responsibilities over items to 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) …

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

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

Edit And Delete Items

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons next to items 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 users assigned with an item complete the task and tick the item checkbox …

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

And gets listed the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and display lists on any page or post using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List 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 to-do list to appear …

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

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

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Plugin Shortcodes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you add lists on your site using shortcodes.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your 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 …

The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists and checklists on your content.

Once you know what type of information you want to display on your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the short code into the content area …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed in the location where you have added the short code …

For more information about this plugin, visit the plugin website:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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