How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

Time always seems to be in short supply, especially if you run a fast-paced business or manage other people.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never ends.

Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of trying to promote and grow your business online and maintaining your website updated with fresh content and things can start becoming unmanageable and chaotic.

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

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

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you track your progress as you work towards certain goals. Your to do list can be quite detailed and specific, or act as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

Organization

A to-do list helps you create order, keep things organized and reach your goals faster.

Manage Your Time Better

Prioritizing tasks on your list helps you save time and better manage your workload. You can develop a better perspective on what is truly urgent vs what is not, and what tasks should be completed first.

Log Your Work

A to-do list allows you to retain documented logs of the work you have done. This can be used as evidence of work to employers or clients, or just as a method of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Eliminate Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there is so much that needs doing and so very little time to do it all in. Creating a to do list allows you to work on urgent tasks that need to get done within a reasonable timeframe, and push out items that can be worked on later. This can help you stress less.

Feeling Of Accomplishment

Crossing items off a to-do list not only makes you feel more positive, motivated and in-control, it also lets you 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 to-do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Creating a to-do list, prioritizing tasks and working in a systematic way increases efficiency and productivity in your business.

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

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

Cleverness To-Do List

Download URL

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

Description

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

Plugin Features

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

You can set up the plugin to have 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 offers different settings. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email new to-do items to assigned users) and optionally to have those items only seen 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 included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your list and your to-do list can also be displayed on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as short code to display the to-do list items on your site. There are two short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessible via 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 download a copy of the Post Planner plugin for WordPress.

Installing The 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 hit Enter …

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

Activate the plugin …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

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

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s set up the plugin …

How To Configure The Plugin

The Settings screen is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s now go through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize your to-do lists 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 menu …

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

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

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

List View

List View allows you to choose how to-do lists will be viewed. You can choose three kinds of to-do list views:

• Individual – Selecting this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choose 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 using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which of your users has added an item to your 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 to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

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

Show Progress

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

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WordPress Dashboard 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 this option is enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do list items.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

Go here to learn more this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Multi-Author Publishing Plugin For WordPress

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

Advanced Settings

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

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

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

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’ screen lets you customize your To-Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates in 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

In this section you can customize your labels for prioritizing important, middle (normal) and lowest (low) items …

Items prioritized as “important” are colour-coded in red and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will show the items’ IDs on your list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date the to-do list was added displays on your table of items …

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 items to other users …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option 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 (‘Yes’) displays tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Author to display the type of users that can be assigned todo items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you don’t want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want emails sent out to users.

Note: If this option is disabled, skip 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

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

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to show categories in the subject of your emails.

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 website 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 to users. You can enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Type in 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 automatically distributed to users whenever new items have been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Add 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 lets you carry out database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data inside your plugin settings area …

This is useful if, for example, you see that todo items you have previously deleted are still displaying on your site.

You can perform the tasks below in this section:

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

Any actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.

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

• Backup, Clone & Keep Your WP Web Sites Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WordPress

User Permissions

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

If you have selected Individual List, the only permission that applies in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group or 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 configured 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 permit non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Below is a description of the settings in the User Permissions section:

View To-Do List

This option enables 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

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

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

This enables the selected capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This option enables 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

This option permits the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This setting enables the selected 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 decide to transfer data from an existing list to another website, or export your data for backup or reporting purposes.

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

Use this section to easily import or export your list 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 download your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage device …

In addition to exporting to-do 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 – pages, posts, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your storage medium…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a previously saved to-do list data file, click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Locate the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

After uploading the data file, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

Your file data will be imported.

Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you are ready to start create and edit your to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

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

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

Adding New To Do Items To Your List

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

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

You can also add new items to your to-do list inside your 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 contains many items, as the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when when you add new to-do items.

Select 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 to-do item …

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign tasks 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 remove users) …

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

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

Edit And Remove To-Do 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 set up the plugin (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

When users responsible for the item complete the task and click on the item checkbox …

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

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

Additional Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your website using widgets, and add lists to any page or post using shortcodes.

Using The 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 would like your list to show …

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

The to-do list will now display where you have placed the ‘to-do-list’ widget (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using WordPress Widget

Using Plugin Shortcodes

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you create to-do lists on your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

To access the documentation on using short codes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your WordPress admin menu …

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

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

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

Once you know what type of information you want to add to your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the short code inside the content area …

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

Go here to download this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to add to-do lists to your WordPress site.

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