How To Create A To Do List In WordPress

There never seems to be enough time to get things done, especially if you run a hectic business.

There are so many things to do and remember. You have clients to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never ends.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with fresh content and things can start to become 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, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks to team members efficiently.

One proven method that can help you save time, reduce stress, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to-do” list can help you track your progress as you work to achieve a certain objective. Your to do list can be detailed or specific, or act as a reminder of tasks that need to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

Think Clearly

Writing to do lists means you don’t have to memorize stuff or store extra information inside your head. Once tasks are recorded on a to-do list, your head is free to process other information and you can focus on other areas that could be more important.

Better Time Management

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you manage your time more effectively. You can develop a clearer perspective on what’s more important vs what isn’t, and what tasks need to be completed first.

Quickly Reschedule

Using to do lists let you better handle sudden and unexpected situations. If you suddenly find that a meeting gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time becomes available when some task gets completed sooner than expected, you can quickly reschedule and keep working with little to minimal disruption.

Accountability

With no accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and take over your work day.

Improved Collaboration

Using 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 a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to-do lists, then prioritizing tasks and working in a systematic way increases productivity and efficiency in your business.

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

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to add a to-do list to WordPress to help get things done online  faster and more efficiently using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Plugin Download URL

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

Plugin Description

This WordPress plugin provides users with a to-do list feature.

Plugin Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To-Do List to assign private to do lists for each user, to have all users share a to-do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

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

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

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to do list items on your blog. There are 2 short codes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessed through the back-end admin section.

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

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

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

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin in the Search Results area and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s settings section by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your admin menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Setting Up The Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:

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

Let’s now take you through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

This lets you add categories that can help 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 when using the sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how your lists are viewed. There are 3 types of to-do list views available:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets each user create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing 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 completion of items. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to set 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, Category or ID options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display which users have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you will be able to specify deadlines for to-do tasks …

Show Progress

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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 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

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

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, from the same developer that helps to make the task of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Go here to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

After you have configured your options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

Once you have configured the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

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

This screen lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and perform 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to 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 on your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about how to format dates in WordPress, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

In this section you can customize the labels for highest, middle and low priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled, item IDs appear on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) shows the date the To-Do Items table 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 settings in this section 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 set this option to ‘Yes’ for the settings below it to work.

Show a User Only the To-Do Items Assigned to Them

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled displays to-do 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 checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled, WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

If you don’t want emails sent out to users, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the remaining 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 to display to-do categories in the email subject.

If you don’t want categories to show the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, 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 notifications. Enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

In this field, add the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add into this field a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users whenever a new item has been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, type 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 area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside your plugin settings area …

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

The following tasks can be performed in this section:

• Delete Tables – Delete any custom database tables that you no longer use.
• 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 remember to backup your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to back up your data manually, then consider using professional WordPress help services, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform automated WordPress file and data backups here:

• Back Up, Duplicate & Keep Your WP Site Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

In this section you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types …

If you select the Individual List type, the only item applicable for this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to have access to for each option …

By default, general capabilities for 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-administrator users should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.

Let’s now review the settings in this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow 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 setting enables the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This setting allows the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This 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

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

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This setting allows the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

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

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may want to transfer data from one website to another, or store the 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

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

This will open up a new window allowing you to view or download your data as plain text to an internal or external drive …

In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress main menu and choosing 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

To import a list data file, 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 the data file has been uploaded to your settings area, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

Your file data will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can begin creating and editing your lists.

Plugin Usage

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 you to the ‘To-Do List’ screen …

Add A New Item To Your List

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

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

You can also add new to-do items in the 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 already 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 page) …

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

Depending on how you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when adding new items to your to-do list.

Configure the options you have enabled for your to-do items, add appropriate 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 allows you to assign responsibilities over items to specific 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 remove a user) …

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

Repeat the above process to add new items to your list …

Editing And Deleting Items

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

Depending on how you have configured your 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 inside their own dashboard …

When users assigned with an item complete the task and click on the item checkbox …

… the item is then removed 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 added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a post or page using short codes.

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 (or footer) menu where you want the to-do list to display …

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

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

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

• How To Use s

Shortcodes

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you create lists to your site using short codes.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard 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 …

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

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

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

Go here for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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