A guided walkthrough of long-term planning in Sonto
Long-term planning is how you keep an eye on what matters beyond today. This walkthrough takes you
through planning a quarter from start to finish — the year works the same way. Watch below, or read
the written steps that follow.
Planning a quarter in Sonto
It’s worth planning your year before your quarter, so the quarter is anchored in bigger goals. But
if a year feels like a lot, start with a quarter — that’s far better than nothing.
The guided planning flow is currently a Mac feature. You can create plans on iPhone, but without
the step-by-step flow.
Open the New Plan dialog (hover the + at the bottom of the sidebar, or File → Planning). Sonto
proposes the next quarter and finds your previous one automatically. Click Start Planning.
Create a new plan from the sidebar
1
Review the last quarter
Sonto shows what you set out to do last quarter and what you actually finished. Tick off anything
still genuinely done, and leave the rest open. Then take a minute to reflect — a line or two on
how it went makes the next plan better. When you’re ready, click the progress pie to close the
old plan: you’re acknowledging that the unfinished parts are in the past, and moving on.
2
Set your intention
Say what this quarter is about, in your own words — what truly motivates you, what would make it a
success. Keep it active and honest (“launch Sonto, find my next role, and stay flexible while life
changes”). The intention sets the tone for everything below it.
3
Organise into groups
Capture the relevant parts of your life as groups. Prefill them from your previous plan, start
from a template, or create your own — whatever fits. Then give each group an intensity score: how
much energy and time it deserves this quarter. A low score says “not much focus here”; a high score
says “this is where I push”. Some people even add a not doing group, to make a choice explicit.
A group with an intensity score
4
Turn intention into action
Now add the actions you intend to take to each group. Less is more — aim for the highest-value
items, often the ones you’re slightly scared of. You can pull up your previous quarter or your
yearly plan for reference, and drag items across. Flag the most important ones so they stand out.
5
Finalize
Take one last look at the whole picture: your intention, your groups and their intensity scores, and
the work under each. Does it hang together? Is this really what matters most to you right now? If so,
click Done — your plan is now active, and it’s time to get busy.
