How To Create A To Do List In WordPress

If you are a business owner, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much to do and remember. You have clients to meet, urgent tasks to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to extinguish, appointments 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 new content and things can quickly start becoming unmanageable and chaotic.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, track your progress, and, if necessary, delegate tasks to members of your team efficiently.

A simple “tried and true” tool 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 helps you keep track of your progress when trying to get tasks completed. Your to do list can be very detailed and very specific, or serve as a reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

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

To Do Lists Help To Keep Things Organized

To-do lists help you create order, stay organized and achieve your goals sooner.

Time Prioritization

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time. You can develop a clearer perspective on what is more urgent vs what isn’t, and what tasks should be completed first.

Quickly Reorganize Or Reschedule

Using to do lists help you better handle unforeseen situations. If an appointment gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time becomes available because some task was completed sooner than expected, you can keep working with little to minimal disruption.

Ensures Accountability

With no accountability there’s no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability allows excuses to creep in and take over your work day.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Ticking items off to do lists gives you a sense of accomplishment and allows you to stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that work is indeed being completed and that progress is being made.

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 on the list and your business efficiency and productivity will improve.

What about using to do lists on your website?

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

Cleverness To-Do List

Download The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

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

Plugin Description

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

Features

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

You can set up Cleverness To Do List with 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 specific users (this includes emailing new to do items to the user) and optionally to have those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

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

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are two shortcodes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessed via the back-end admin section.

If you plan to run a multi-author site 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.

How To Install The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Log into your WP admin and click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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 screen …

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the settings area by choosing To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

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

Plugin Setup

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area is divided into four tabs:

• To-Do List Settings – The options in this section let you 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 – Here you can set up user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group List types.
• Import/Export – Here you can import and export to-do plugin and list data settings.

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

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘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 menu …

This lets you add categories that you can use to organize your to-do 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 when using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

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

• Individual – Selecting this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Select this option if you want all users to be able 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 completion of items. If you select 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 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

Enabling this option lets you display which users on your site have added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

If this option is enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WP 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

If enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run 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 managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

Go here for more information about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner

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

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

In this screen you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and carry out plugin database maintenance tasks.

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

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

Here 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 relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize labels for highest, normal and low priority items …

Items given the highest (important) priority display in red in your lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will display item IDs on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added will display on the To-Do Items table …

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 settings in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option to assign to-do items 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) displays items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this section (Administrator to display 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

If you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send 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 (‘No’).

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the other settings 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 on the subject of your emails …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to show categories in the subject of your emails.

If you don’t want to-do categories displayed in 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, your site has a number of project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

This field lets you customize the “From” field when sending out emails. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

In this field, type a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users whenever new items have been added 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 section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can perform database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area without the need to log into your server …

This is useful if, for example, you notice that previously deleted to-do items are still appearing on your site.

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are comfortable to perform database operations in this section, then make sure to backup your database first.

If you don’t want to do your own backups, then get professional help services, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can learn more about a great WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:

• Back Up, Duplicate And Keep Your WP Website Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

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

If you are using the Individual List type, the only configurable item that applies in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you are configuring 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 …

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 make sure that you only authorize non-administrator users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s go through the settings for 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 selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This option enables the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This allows the selected capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow 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 to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

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

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be useful. For example, you may decide to copy over data from one website to another, or export the list data for backup or archiving purposes.

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

Use this section to export and import your 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 the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your 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 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

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’ …

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

Your file will be imported.

Once you have configured all plugin settings, you can start creating and editing your lists.

How To Use The Plugin

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

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

Add New To-Do Items To Your List

There are several ways to add a new item to your to-do list.

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

You can also add new items to your to-do list 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, as the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

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

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

Select the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate 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 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 items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to remove a user) …

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

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

Edit And Delete To-Do Items

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

Depending on how you have configured the plugin (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to-do list, users can view the list when logged into their own user dashboard …

When the user assigned with completing an item ticks the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and display lists on content inside a page or post using shortcodes.

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 want your to-do list to show …

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

The list will appear on your site where the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been inserted (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

The Cleverness plugin also lets you add lists and checklists to your site with shortcodes.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, click on 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’ menu to access the Shortcode Documentation screen …

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

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

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

To download this plugin, visit this site:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists in WordPress.

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