How To Create To Do Lists In WordPress

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

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with fresh content and things can quickly start to become 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 manage your daily tasks.

One simple proven method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.

The Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to do” list can help you measure your progress when trying to complete projects. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and specific, or serve as a concise reminder of the things that need doing today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Clearer Thinking

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

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time more effectively. You can gain a clearer perspective on what is more urgent vs what isn’t, and what steps have to be completed first.

Log Your Work

A to-do list lets you retain documented logs of what has been done. This can be used as evidence of work to clients or employers, or just as a means of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there’s 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 work day.

Collaborating With Others

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 to complete the items listed improves productivity and efficiency in your business.

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

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add a to-do list to your WordPress site to help your business grow  faster and more efficiently using a great little plugin for WordPress 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.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features

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

You can set up 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 option has a variety of settings available. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes emailing a new to do item to assigned users) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. 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 backend to manage your lists and your to do list is also listed on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to do list items on your blog. There are two shortcodes for front-end list administration. Category management is restricted to 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 download the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

Log into your site’s dashboard scroll down the main menu 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 area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

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

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

How To Configure The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Let’s now go through each of these tabs.

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 menu …

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

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

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

List View

List View lets you specify how lists will be viewed. There are three types of list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option allows users to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose this option if you want all users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Use this option to create 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 adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled, you can 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 to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled, you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option to display content in your to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a collaborative 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 about using this handy plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner

After you have configured your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

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

Let’s go 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’ screen allows you to 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 on your todo lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about formatting 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, normal and lowest priority items …

Items prioritized as “important” are shown in red in the lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option displays the item’s ID on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will display the date your To-Do Items table was added …

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 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

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

Enable this option to display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Author displays 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, WordPress will automatically send users an email 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, 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 to show to-do categories in the subject of your emails.

If you don’t want categories to appear the email subject, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

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, your site has 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. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in 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

Enter a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users when a new item has 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

In this area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can perform database maintenance tasks related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself …

This function is useful if, for example, you see that old todo items are still showing on your site.

You can perform the tasks below in this section:

• Delete Tables – Delete 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 comfortable to carry out database maintenance in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files manually, then consider getting support services from a WordPress professional, or use backup plugins. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Backup, Clone & Protect Your WP Sites With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you select the Individual List type, the only setting that applies in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you plan to set up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to perform for each option …

The default general capabilities of each user role are configured 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-administrators should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s review the settings in this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can enable 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 chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option allows the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the selected capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option allows 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 allows the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This enables the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This option permits 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 list data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

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

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This opens up a window allowing you to view or save your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to an internal or external hard drive …

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

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘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 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 in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

Once the data file has been uploaded to your settings area, click on the ‘Import Settings’ button …

Your file data will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can start create and edit to do lists.

How To Use Cleverness To-Do List

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

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

Add New Items To Your 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 admin 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 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, since the link is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

All 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, some options may not display when adding new to-do items.

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 item to your list …

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

Repeat this process to keep adding new items to your to-do list …

Editing And Deleting To Do Items

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 your plugin settings (discussed earlier), 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 the list from their WP dashboard …

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

… the item no longer appears in the “To-Do” list …

And appears in 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 added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your site using widgets, and display lists on any post or page using shortcodes.

Widgets

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 menu location where you want your to-do list to display …

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

Your list will now display wherever you have added the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Shortcodes

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you display to-do lists on your site using shortcodes.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, 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’ tab to access the Shortcode Documentation screen …

This section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists on your content.

Once you know what information you want to add to your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the short code inside the content editor …

After publishing your post or page, you should see the list displayed where you have added the shortcode …

To learn more about this plugin, visit this site:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add a to-do list to your WordPress site or blog.

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