How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

If you plan to run a fast-paced business or manage any kind of project that requires people to work as a team, time is always in short supply.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, commitments 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 keeping your website updated with new content and things can quickly start becoming unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily activities, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks to team members efficiently.

One ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, reduce stress, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to-do” list.

The Benefits Of Using To Do Lists

A “to-do” list helps you measure your progress as you work to achieve a certain goal. Your to-do list can be quite detailed or specific, or serve as a reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Think Clearly

Writing a to do list means that you won’t have to try to memorize stuff or store information inside your head. Once things are recorded on a to-do list, your head is free to process information and you can focus on more important things.

Better Strategic Planning

Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you break down your workload into doable tasks and come up with a strategic plan for getting everything done effectively.

Reorganize And Reschedule Quickly

Having a to do list helps you better deal with sudden and unexpected situations. If a meeting gets cancelled or extra time becomes available when some task gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reorganize and continue working with little to minimal disruption.

Ensures Accountability

With no 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 take over 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, prioritizing tasks and working in a systematic way improves efficiency and productivity in your business.

Let’s turn now to using a to-do list on your website or blog. More specifically, adding to-do lists to WordPress.

In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily create a to-do list in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a great little plugin for WordPress 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 lets you easily add to-do lists to WordPress.

Features

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

You can configure the plugin to assign 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 has a variety of settings available. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to do item to the assigned user) 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 show 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 lists and your to do list 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 accessible via the back-end.

If you plan to run a multi-author blog you can use the plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post planners if you also own the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

In your site’s administration area, scroll down the main menu and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

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

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s configure the plugin …

How To Set Up The Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s take you through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize your list 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 plugin menu …

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

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

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

List View

List View allows you to choose how your lists will be viewed. There are 3 kinds of to do list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets each user create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to be able to share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to sort to-do list items.

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

Show Added By

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

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If enabled, you can specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

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

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display content in your to-do lists using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more about using this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

After configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

In this screen you can 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 options in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates in your todo list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about how to format dates in WordPress, refer to 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 and low items …

high priority items are shown in red and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), the item’s ID show on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option displays 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 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 (‘Yes’) to assign tasks 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

Enable this option to display to-do 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 area Editor displays the type of users that can be assigned items. Leave the check box unticked for any roles that you don’t want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends 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 you disable this option, 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 to appear 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 (‘Yes’) displays the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if you have several 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. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you want showing as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

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

Add into this field 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 associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area …

This is useful if, for example, you notice that todo items you have deleted are still listed on your site.

The tasks below can be performed:

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

Actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to do your own site backups, then consider getting support from a WordPress professional, or use WordPress backup plugins. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress backups here:

• Back Up, Duplicate And Protect Your WordPress Web Site With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you have selected the Individual List type, the only setting that applies 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 want users to have access to for each option …

The 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 using the Master list type non-administrators 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

This permits the selected 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 enable the selected capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This permits the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This setting permits the selected capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option allows 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 chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may want to transfer data from an existing list to another website, 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 …

Now you can easily import or export your data 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 save your data in plain text format to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, 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 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

To import a 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’ …

Once your 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 begin creating and editing to do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

How To Add New Items To Your To Do List

There are several ways to add new to-do items.

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

You can also add a new item to your to-do list from the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section 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 will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

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

Depending on how you have configured your plugin’s settings, some options may not display when when you add new to-do items.

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 to-do item …

Note: If you have chosen 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 assign items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

Once After adding a new item, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

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

Editing And Deleting To-Do Items

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons associated with items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on your configuration settings (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

After creating your to-do list, users can view it from their user dashboard …

When a user assigned with the item completes the task and ticks the item check box …

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

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

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress website using widgets, and display lists on content inside a page or post using short codes.

Using The Cleverness 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 menu location where you want your list to display …

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

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

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Shortcodes

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin also lets you display lists and checklists on your site using shortcodes.

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

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

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

This section explains different ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists on your content.

Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, create or edit a new or existing page or post and either type or paste the short code into the content editor …

Publish your post or page and you will see the list showing where you have inserted the shortcode …

For more details about this plugin, visit this site:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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