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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.

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Start a plan

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.
Creating a new plan from the sidebar

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 planning group named Work with an intensity score of 5

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.

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Where to next

Weekly and Daily planning

Turn this quarter’s plan into action, week by week.

Planning reference

Plan states, linking, and the Plans area in detail.