How To Create A To Do List In WordPress

If you are a business owner, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get things done.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to end.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with new content and things can start to become unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, track your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to members of your team effectively.

One simple “tried and true” method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to regain control is to use a “to-do” list.

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to do” list helps you keep track of your progress as you to get projects completed. Your to do list can be very detailed and very 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 benefits of using to do lists:

See Things More Clearly

Writing a to do list means you won’t have to memorize things or clutter your mind with details. Once things are jotted 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.

Strategize

Creating and organizing to do lists helps you view the bigger picture and come up with a strategy for getting everything completed effectively.

Document Your Work

A to-do list lets you keep documented logs of what you have done. This can be used to provide evidence of work to clients or employers, or simply as a way of helping you measure your own productivity and efficiency.

Less Stress

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many things that needs doing and very little time to do it all in. Using to do lists let you work on important items that need to be completed within the time you have available, and reschedule non-urgent tasks that can be worked on later. This can help reduce stress.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Crossing items off to do lists gives you a feeling of accomplishment and allows you to stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that work is indeed being completed and that milestones are being reached.

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 towards completing the tasks you have listed and your business efficiency and productivity is sure to increase.

What about adding a to do list to your WordPress website or blog?

In this tutorial we are going to show you how to create a to do list in WordPress to help your business grow  faster and more efficiently using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Plugin URL

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

Plugin Description

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

Features

Note: the plugin features listed below are 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 your to do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to-do list option offers a number of different settings. You can delegate to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to do items to the user) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to help you manage your lists and the to do lists can also display on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to do list items on your site. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessible through the back-end admin section.

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

Installing The Plugin

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

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

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

Activate the plugin …

Note: You can also activate the plugin in the Plugins section …

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The ‘Settings’ section can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the ‘Settings’ screen …

The section below shows you how to set up the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s review each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

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 plugin menu …

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

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

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

List View

List View lets you specify how lists will be viewed. There are three kinds of to-do list views you can select:

• Individual – Choosing this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how your to-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

If enabled, you can display which of your members has added an item to your 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 your 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 (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display 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

If enabled (‘Yes’), 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 author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

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

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

Advanced Settings

After configuring the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab …

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

This screen lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and carry out database maintenance.

Let’s take you through how to configure the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Customize The To-Do List

In this area 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 in your to-do lists (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 the labels for highest, middle and low priority items …

Items given the highest priority are shown in red and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

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

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option will show the date the table of items was added …

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 options in this area and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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

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

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a role, then don’t tick its check box.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, 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 this option is disabled, you can skip the 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 to-do categories to appear the subject of your emails.

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

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 is a useful option if you have a number of 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 emails to users. Add 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

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

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, 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 lets you perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself without having to log into your server …

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

You can perform the following tasks in this section:

• Delete Tables – Remove custom database tables that you are no longer using.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Delete 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 WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to perform manual backups, then use a professional service, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:

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

User Permissions

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

If you select the Individual List type, the only configurable option applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you are configuring 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 …

By default, general capabilities of 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 authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s review the settings in this tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit 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 allow the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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 enables the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

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

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may need to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or store the data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Here you can export or import your list data and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

To export and download your data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This opens up a window allowing you to download and save the data as plain text to a storage medium …

In addition to exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your 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 – posts, pages, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to your 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 your data file has been uploaded in your settings area, click on the ‘Import Settings’ button …

Your file will be imported.

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

Plugin Usage

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

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

How To Add New To-Do Items

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

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

You can also add new to-do items 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 already contains many items, as the link will simply 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, you may or may not see certain options displayed when new items to your to-do list.

Set up 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 new to-do item …

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign responsibilities over items 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 After adding a new item, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding 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 items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have configured your settings (see previous section), users assigned to completing 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 completing an item ticks the item check box …

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

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

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 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’ section (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the location in your sidebar menu where you want your to-do list to appear …

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

Your list will now display wherever the widget has been inserted (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Using Plugin Shortcodes

You can also add to-do lists and checklists to your site by inserting short codes into your content.

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’ tab to access the Shortcode Documentation section …

The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists on your pages and posts.

Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, create a new post or page and either type or paste the shortcode into the content area …

Publish your post or page and you should see the list displayed in the location where you added the short code …

To learn more 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 in WordPress.

***

***