How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress

If you are a business owner or busy project manager, there never seems to be enough time to get things done.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never stops.

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

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your activities, keep track of your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, assign tasks to others efficiently.

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

To-Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list helps you monitor your progress as you work to get projects completed. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and specific, or just serve as a concise reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

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

To Do Lists Help Stay Organized

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

Save Time

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

Keep Documented Work Logs

To-do lists let you retain documented logs of the work you have done. This can be used as evidence of work done to clients or employers, or simply as a means of helping you monitor your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there is no commitment to getting things completed, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability lets excuses creep in and take over your work day.

Better Delegation Of Work

Having to-do lists help you delegate work to others better. This is also important if you plan to work with others (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using to do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to do lists, then prioritizing tasks and working towards completing the items listed increases your business productivity and efficiency.

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

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to do lists to a WP website or blog to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to do list plugin for WordPress called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Description

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin 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 the same to-do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to-do list option provides different settings. You can assign to do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to-do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items only 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 also included in the front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to manage your lists and your to do lists 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 blog. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessed through the back-end.

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

Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Installation

In your WordPress admin, select Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Click Activate Plugin …

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

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the ‘Settings’ screen by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Plugin Setup

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen is divided into four sections:

• To-Do List Settings – In this tab you can specify the main plugin settings.
• Advanced Settings – Here you can customize To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – In this tab you can set up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types.
• Import/Export – This tab is where you can export and import 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 to-do 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 sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View lets you choose how your lists are viewed. You can choose three list views:

• Individual – Select this option if you want 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 the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have a master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which of your users has added an item to the to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

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

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you will be able to specify deadlines for 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 displays 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

If enabled, 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, developed by the same author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

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

Once you have configured your options, 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 …

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

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

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

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

In this section you can 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 list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

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

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for highest, middle (normal) and lowest (low) priority items …

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

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), the item’s ID will show on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the date the table of items was added …

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 to-do items to other users …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

If this option is enabled, you can 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 (‘Yes’), you can display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a role, then don’t tick its check box.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

When 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, skip the other items 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.

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

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if your site has 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 to users. You can enter the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

In this field, enter the email address that you want showing 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 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

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area without the need to log into your web server …

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

You can perform the following tasks:

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

Actions that you perform on your 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 WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files manually, then consider hiring the services of a professional WordPress provider, or use backup plugins. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to perform automated backups here:

• Back Up, Duplicate And Protect Your WordPress Web Sites With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you select the Individual List type, the only permission that is applicable in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you plan to set up 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 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 using 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.

Let’s now review the settings in this tab:

View To-Do List

This setting allows the chosen 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 chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This option permits the selected capability to modify existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

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

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

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

Add Categories Capability

This permits 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 decide to copy over data from an existing to-do list to another website, or export your 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 easily import and export your list 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 window allowing you to download and save your data in plain text format to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, 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 selecting ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click 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 file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

After configuring all plugin settings, you can start creating and editing to do lists.

Plugin Usage

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 …

How To Add New Items To Your List

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

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

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

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

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

Set up 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 to-do item …

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 items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to delete a user) …

After an item has been added, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding items to your list …

Editing And Deleting To Do Items

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

Depending on your configuration settings (see previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …

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

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

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

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides added functionality that lets you display to-do lists on your website using widgets, and display lists on content inside a post or page using short codes.

Using The Plugin Widget

To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ section (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the location in your sidebar menu where you would like the list to display …

Configure the settings in the widget and click ’Save’ to update your settings …

The list will now display wherever you have added the widget (e.g. 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

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you create to-do lists to your site using shortcodes.

To access the documentation on using short codes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from the WP admin menu …

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

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

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

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

After publishing your post or page, you will see the list displayed where you entered the short code …

Visit this site to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

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

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