How To Create To-Do Lists In WordPress
If you are running a growing business, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get things done.
There is just so much to do and remember. You have deadlines to meet, projects to complete, priorities to attend to, fires to put out, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never stops.
Now … on top of all this, add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website or blog updated with fresh content and everything can suddenly begin to feel 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 daily tasks, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks to members of your team or staff efficiently.
A proven method that can help you save time, alleviate stressful workloads, and allow you to regain control is to use a “to-do” list.
To-Do Lists – Benefits
A “to do” list helps you track your progress when trying to complete projects. Your to do list can be minutely detailed or specific, or act as a reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.
Here are just a few of the benefits of using to do lists:
Organization
Having to-do lists help you create order, keep things organized and reach your goals faster.
Strategize
Creating and organizing to-do lists helps you view the larger picture and create a strategy to get everything done efficiently.
Reorganize And Reschedule Quickly
Having a to-do list helps you better cope with changes in circumstances. If you find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time becomes available because a task got completed sooner than expected, you can continue moving forward with little to minimal disruption.
Stress Less
Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so little time to do it all in. Creating a to-do list lets you work on urgent items that have to be completed within the time you have available, and push out items that can be addressed at a later time. This can help reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and alleviate some of the stress you (and your team) may be feeling.
Better Work Delegation
A to do list helps you delegate tasks to others better. This is also important if you plan to collaborate within a team (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 a to-do list, prioritizing tasks and working systematically improves efficiency and productivity in your business.
What about adding to do lists to your website or blog?
In this step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to add to-do lists 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 plugin provides users with a to-do list feature.
Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features
Note: the plugin features described below are discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.
You can configure the plugin to assign 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 provides different settings. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to-do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items only viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well in the front-end administration.
A new menu item is added to the admin backend to help you manage your list and the to do lists 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 two shortcodes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end.
If you plan to run a multi-author blog you can use the plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post editors if you also install a copy of the Post Planner plugin.
Plugin Installation
In your site’s administration section, go to the menu and 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 entry in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …
Click Activate Plugin …
Note: You can also activate this plugin from the Plugins screen …
Once the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …
Note: You can also get to the plugin’s settings section by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …
This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …
Let’s set up the plugin …
How To Configure The Plugin
The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ area is divided into four tabs:
- To-Do List Settings – This section lets you specify the main plugin settings.
- Advanced Settings – In this section you can customize your 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 Group and Master 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 tabs.
To-Do List Settings
To-Do List Categories
Select ‘Enabled’ to organize lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.
Note: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item gets added to the To-Do List menu …
This allows you to add categories to 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 using sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)
List View
List View lets you specify how to-do lists will be viewed. There are 3 list views:
- Individual – Select this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
- Group – Selecting this option allows all users to share the same to-do list.
- Master – This option allows you to create one master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure to 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 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 members has added an item to your to-do list.
Note: This setting only works when ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.
Show Date Completed
If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for to-do items.
Show Deadline
If this option is enabled, you can specify deadlines for to-do items …
Show Progress
Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …
Show Admin Bar Menu
If enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display 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 enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in to-do lists.
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 process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …
Visit this site to learn more about using this handy plugin: WordPress Post Planner
When you have finished configuring your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …
Advanced Settings
After you have configured the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …
This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …
This section lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform database maintenance.
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 …
You can configure the following options 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, visit 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 prioritized as “important” display in red and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …
Show To-Do Item ID
If enabled (‘Yes’), the items’ IDs show up on your to-do list …
Show Date To-Do Was Added
If enabled, the date the to-do list was added shows on your items table …
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 settings in this area and assign items to other users …
You can configure the following options in this area:
Assign To-Do Items to Users
Enable this option 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
Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled (‘No’) will display items to all users.
User Roles to Show
Checking the boxes in this area (Administrator displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do items. Leave the checkbox unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.
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.
Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the remaining 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 show to-do categories in the email subject.
If you don’t want to show to-do categories in the email subject, then leave this option disabled.
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 site has multiple 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 emails. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …
From Email
Add into this field the email address that you would like showing as the “sent from” address …
Subject Field for Emails Sent to User
Type into this field a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users when a new item has been added to your to-do list …
Text in Emails Sent to User
Enter 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 you can perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data inside the plugin settings area …
This function is useful if, for example, you see that to-do items you have previously deleted are still showing on your site.
You can perform the following tasks in this section:
- Delete Tables – Delete custom database tables that you are no longer using.
- Delete All To-Do Items – Delete all of your to-do items.
Actions that you perform on the database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to perform database maintenance in this section, then remember to backup your database first.
If you don’t want to do manual backups, then consider using a professional, or use backup plugins. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress site backups here:
User Permissions
This section lets you configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …
If you have selected the Individual List type, the only configurable option applicable for 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 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 non-administrators should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.
Let’s review the settings in the User Permissions section:
View To-Do List
This option enables 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
This permits the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.
Add To-Do Item Capability
Here you can allow the selected capability to add new to-do items.
Edit To-Do Item Capability
This option allows the chosen capability to edit existing items.
Assign To-Do Item Capability
Here you can allow the selected capability to delegate items to individual users.
View All Assigned Tasks Capability
This permits 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
This allows the selected capability to purge all the completed items.
Add Categories Capability
This allows 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 want to copy over data from one site to another, or export your data for backup or archiving purposes.
To access this function, click on the ‘Import/Export’ tab in your plugin settings section …
Now you can export and import your list and plugin settings …
Exporting To-Do List Data
You can export and download your list data settings by clicking 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 medium …
As well as exporting list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your dashboard menu and selecting Tools > Export …
You can include to-do list data in a WordPress 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 the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your hard drive…
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 previously saved to-do list data file 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 of the plugin settings, you are ready to start creating and editing your to-do 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’ page …
Adding New To-Do Items To Your List
There are a number of ways to add new to-do items to your list.
For example, you can add new to-do items from your dashboard toolbar …
You can also add new to-do items to your list inside 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 contains many items, since the link will simply send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the page) …
The above methods will take you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ section.
Depending on how you have configured the plugin settings, some options may not display when when you add new to-do items.
Set up 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 item to your list …
Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign 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) …
After After adding a new item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …
Repeat the above process to keep adding new items to your list …
Edit And Delete To-Do Items
To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons associated with items under the ‘Action’ column …
Depending on how you have configured the plugin (discussed in the 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 a user assigned with an item completes the task and clicks on the item check box …
… the item no longer appears in the “To-Do” list …
And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …
Additional Plugin Information
The Cleverness plugin provides added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your WordPress site using widgets, and add a list to any 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 location in your sidebar menu where you would like your to-do list to show …
Configure the settings on the widget and click on the ‘Save’ button …
Your to-do list will display wherever the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been inserted (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)
To learn more about using widgets in WordPress, see the tutorial below:
Using Plugin Short Codes
The Cleverness plugin also lets you display lists to your site using short codes.
To access the plugin’s short code documentation, 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 section …
This section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists and checklists on your pages and posts.
Once you know what information you would like to display on your site, create a new page or post and either type or paste the short code into the content area …
Publish your post or page and you should see the list showing in the location where you have added the short code …
To learn more about this plugin, visit the plugin website:
Congratulations! Now you can add to-do lists in WordPress.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)
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