How To Create A To Do List In WordPress
When you run a growing business or manage other people, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything done.
There are just so many things to do and remember. You have deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never stops.
Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with fresh content and everything can suddenly begin feeling unmanageable and chaotic.
Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.
A simple “tried and true” method that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to regain 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 quite detailed and specific, or serve as a concise reminder of the things that need to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.
Here are just a few of the benefits of using to-do lists:
To Do Lists Create Order
Having to do lists help you create order, stay organized and achieve your goals faster.
Better Strategic Planning
After creating and organizing your to do list, you can see the bigger picture and formulate a strategic plan for getting things done efficiently.
Log Your Work
A to do list allows you to retain documented logs of what has been done. This can be used to provide evidence of work to clients or employers, or simply as a way of helping you measure your own productivity and efficiency.
Ensures Accountability
With no accountability there is no commitment to completion, and no motivation to act with a sense of purpose. Lack of accountability allows excuses to creep in and take over your work day.
Collaboration
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 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 productivity and efficiency is sure to improve.
What about using a to-do list on your WordPress website?
In this step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily create to-do lists in WordPress to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to do list plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.
Cleverness To-Do List
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/cleverness-to-do-list/
Description
This plugin lets you easily add customizable to-do lists to a WordPress site.
Features
Note: the features listed below are 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 your to do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.
The shared to-do list option provides a number of different settings. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes emailing new to do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have assigned items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included in the 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 available as well as short code to display the to do list items on your blog. There are 2 short codes for front-end administration of the list. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end admin section.
If you plan to set up a multi-author blog you can use this 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.
How To Install The Plugin
From your WordPress dashboard, click on Plugins > Add New …
In the Install Plugins section, type in “cleverness” into the search field and hit the Enter button …
Locate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin in the Search Results section and click Install Now …
Click Activate Plugin …
Note: You can also activate this plugin in the Plugins screen …
When 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 takes you to the ‘Settings’ area …
Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …
How To Configure The Plugin
The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ area is divided into 4 sections:
- To-Do List Settings – The options in this tab let you specify the plugin’s main settings.
- Advanced Settings – In this section you can 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 – The options in this section let you import and export your to-do plugin and list data settings.
Let’s go through each of these sections.
To-Do List Settings
To-Do List Categories
Select ‘Enabled’ to organize 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 plugin menu …
This allows you to 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 will not be visible when using widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)
List View
List View lets you specify how your lists will be viewed. You can select three list views:
- Individual – Choosing this option allows each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
- Group – Choosing this option allows all users to share one to-do list.
- Master – Use this option 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 that you configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).
Sort Order
‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how your to-do list items will be sorted.
If you choose Category, Alphabetical or ID, Category, ID or Alphabetical options, items will be first sorted by priority.
Show Added By
If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which users on your site have added an item to your 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 items.
Show Deadline
Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for to-do items …
Show Progress
Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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
This option 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 are running a collaborative site or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same developer to help make the task of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …
Go here to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – Editorial Solution Plugin For WordPress
When you are done configuring your plugin options in this section, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …
Advanced Settings
After configuring the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab …
This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …
In this tab you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and carry out 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
Here you can customize your To-Do List …
The following settings can be configured in this section:
Date Format
Here you can specify how to display dates in your todo list (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 the labels for highest, middle (normal) and lowest priority items …
Items prioritized as “important” are shown in red and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …
Show To-Do Item ID
If this option is enabled, the items’ IDs show on your to-do list …
Show Date To-Do Was Added
If enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added displays 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 items to other users …
The following settings can be configured in this section:
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
If this option is enabled, you can display items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display to-do items to all users.
User Roles to Show
Check the boxes in this area Contributor 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 this option is enabled, WordPress will automatically send 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, skip other settings 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.
Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to show to-do categories in the email subject.
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 multiple 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 email notifications. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …
From Email
Enter the email address that you would like showing as the “sent from” address …
Subject Field for Emails Sent to User
Add a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent out to users whenever a new item has been added in your to-do list …
Text in Emails Sent to User
Type 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
This area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area itself …
This function is useful if, for example, you notice that to-do items you have previously deleted are still appearing on your site.
The following tasks can be performed:
- Delete Tables – Delete custom database tables that are no longer being used.
- 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 we recommend backing up your WP database first.
If you don’t want to perform site backups, then get help from a WordPress professional, or use WordPress backup plugins. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to automate WordPress site backups here:
User Permissions
In this section you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types …
If you select Individual List, the only item that is applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …
If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to have access to for each option …
By 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 authorized to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list.
Below is a description of the settings for the User Permissions section:
View To-Do List
Here you can enable the chosen 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 selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or uncompleted.
Add To-Do Item Capability
This permits the selected capability to add new items.
Edit To-Do Item Capability
Here you can enable the chosen capability to edit existing items.
Assign To-Do Item Capability
This setting allows the selected capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.
View All Assigned Tasks Capability
This setting 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 setting enables the chosen capability to delete individual items.
Delete All To-Do Items Capability
Here you can allow the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do items.
Add Categories Capability
Here you can enable 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 need to copy over data from an existing list to another website, or store the data for backup or reporting purposes.
To access this function, click on the ‘Import/Export’ tab in your plugin settings area …
Use this section to easily export and import your data and plugin settings …
Exporting To-Do List Data
To export and download your data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …
This opens up a window allowing you to view or download your data as plain text to a storage medium …
In addition to exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …
You can include to-do list data in an 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 save 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 …
Locate the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …
After uploading the data file, click on ‘Import Settings’ …
Your file will be imported.
After configuring all of the plugin settings, you are ready to begin creating and editing your lists.
Plugin Usage
To create a new to do list, log into your WordPress admin, then go to the menu and click on To-Do List > To-Do List …
This brings you to the ‘To-Do List’ screen …
Adding New Items To Your To-Do List
There are several ways to add new to-do items.
For example, you can add new to-do items from your dashboard bar …
You can also add a new item to your to-do list from the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section by clicking on the ‘Add To-Do item’ link …
You can 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 will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …
The above methods will bring you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ area.
Depending on the way you have configured the plugin 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, add 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 lets you assign responsibilities over items to specific 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, it will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …
Repeat this process to continue adding new items to your list …
Edit And Remove To Do Items From Your List
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 (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …
After creating your to-do list, users can view it when logged into their WP dashboard …
When users responsible for the item complete the task and tick the item check box …
… the item no longer appears in the “To-Do” list …
And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin area …
Additional Plugin Information
The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your website using widgets, and add lists to content inside a page or post using shortcodes.
Using The 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 display …
Configure the settings in the widget and click ’Save’ …
The 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 WordPress widgets, see the tutorial below:
Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes
You can also create to-do lists and checklists to your site with shortcodes.
To access the plugin’s short code documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard menu …
Click on the ‘Help’ tab on the corner of your screen …
Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ menu to access the Shortcode Documentation …
This documentation section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes to display lists and checklists on your pages and posts.
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 short code inside the content editor …
After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed where you have added the short code …
To download this plugin, visit the plugin website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists in WordPress.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)
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