How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

As a business owner, there never seems to be enough time to get everything done.

There is just too much to do and remember. You have clients to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, 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 trying to promote and grow your business online and keeping your website updated with regular content and everything can quickly start to become unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, monitor your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, delegate tasks to other people efficiently.

One ”tried and true” method that can help you save time, alleviate stress, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to-do” lists.

Benefits Of Using To Do Lists

A “to do” list can help you monitor your progress as you complete projects. Your to-do list can be very detailed and specific, or act 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:

Think Clearly

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

Better Manage Your Time

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time. You can develop a better perspective on what’s truly important vs what isn’t, and what steps should be completed first.

Keep Documented Work Logs

To-do lists allow you to keep documented logs of the work you have done. You can use this as evidence of work done to employers or clients, or simply as a means of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the fact that there are so many things to do and so very little time to do it in. Using to do lists allow you to work on important things that have to get done within the time you have available, and reschedule non-urgent tasks that can be worked on later. This can help reduce stress.

Better Delegation

Having a to-do list helps you better delegate tasks to others. This is also important if you plan to work within a team (see further below).

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 systematically and your business efficiency and productivity will surely improve.

What about using a to do list on your WordPress website?

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

Cleverness To-Do List

Plugin URL

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

Description

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

Plugin Features

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

You can configure the plugin with private to-do lists for individual users, to have all users share the same to do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to do list option has a variety of settings available. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email 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 using capabilities. There are also settings available 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 list and your to-do lists are also listed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to-do list items on your site. There are two shortcodes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessed through the back-end.

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

In your site’s admin section, scroll down the menu and select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin …

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

Once you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: The ‘Settings’ screen can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

The section below shows you how to go through the plugin setup process …

Plugin Setup

The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ screen is divided into four sections:

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

Let’s go through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

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

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

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

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

Categories set to ‘private’ are not visible using the 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 3 list views you can select:

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

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

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

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

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If enabled, you can 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 lists using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a collaborative website 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 …

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

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

Advanced Settings

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

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

This screen lets you 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to customize your To-Do List …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

In this area you can 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, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize your labels for prioritizing highest, normal and low items …

Highest (important) priority items are shown in red in the lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the item’s ID on the list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) will show the date the items table was added …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings

If you have chosen either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this section and assign 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 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

Enabling this option displays to-do items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section Contributor to display the type of users that can be assigned items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a particular role, then don’t tick its checkbox.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When this option is enabled, WordPress automatically sends users an email 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, 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 categories in the subject of your emails.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If this option is enabled, you can display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, your website has various 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 email notices. Add your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Type into this field the email address that you want to display as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Enter a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users whenever a new item has been assigned in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type in 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 operations related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area …

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

You can perform the following tasks:

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

Any database operations carried out from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your database first.

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

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

User Permissions

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

If you have chosen the Individual List type, the only setting applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

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

By default, general capabilities for 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 make sure that you only allow non-admin users 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

This permits 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 option allows the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This enables the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This allows the chosen capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable 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 option enables the selected capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This permits the chosen capability to purge all the completed items.

Add Categories Capability

This allows 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 copy over data from one site to another, or store the list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Here you can easily export or import 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 the data as plain text to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress main 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 save your file to your hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

Importing a 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’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

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

Plugin Usage

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

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

Add New To-Do Items

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

For example, you can add a new item to your to-do list from your admin toolbar …

You can also add new to-do items to your 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 already contains many items, as the link will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …

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

Depending on the way you have configured your plugin’s settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when new items to your to-do list.

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 new item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign tasks 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 users) …

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

Repeat the above process to continue adding items to your to-do list …

Editing And Removing Items From Your List

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 the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to do list, users can view the list from their dashboard …

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

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

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin area …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your site using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a post or page using shortcodes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Widget

To add to-do lists 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 would like the list to display …

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

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

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Short Codes

You can also add lists and checklists on your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the dashboard menu …

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists and checklists on your posts and pages.

Once you know what type of information you would like to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the shortcode into the content section …

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

To learn more about this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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