Year
What do you want to change?
1 hour, once a year
The Sonto Method
From your big annual goals to today’s priorities,
Sonto guides you step by step.
What would you like
to work towards?
Learning to play guitar. Changing your career. Making more time for your family. Start with something you care about, then work out what you can do about it.
The Sonto Method helps you turn that intention into a plan you can use each day. You review it regularly, so it keeps up with what you learn and how your life changes.
Start with the year.
Work towards today.
You don’t need to map out every day in advance. Each planning session brings your longer-term goals into view and helps you decide what to do next.
This year
Learn to play guitar
Be able to play a few songs with friends.
This quarter
Learn the basic chords
Find a teacher and practise regularly.
This week
Book a first lesson
Ask around for a local teacher.
Today
Ask Sam about his guitar teacher
Include the everyday work.
There will still be emails to answer, appointments to make and urgent things to deal with. Plan for those alongside your goals. Put important tasks on your calendar to see what fits, and leave room for the unexpected.
Keep today manageable.
Choose what you’ll do today. When something new comes up, put it in your inbox or week unless it needs your attention now. You can decide when to do it at your next planning session.
Sonto helps you plan.
Sonto guides you through each session and reminds you when it’s time to plan again. The times below give you an idea of what’s involved.
Quarter
What would count as progress?
30 minutes, every quarter
Week
What needs your attention now?
10 minutes, every week
Day
What can you realistically do today?
3 minutes, every morning
A few things to keep in mind.
Give yourself time to find out.
You may not know exactly what you want yet. Reflection helps, but so does trying things. Your goals can become more specific as you discover what you enjoy and what matters to you.
Choose a pace you can sustain.
Be selective about what you take on. Consistent effort over time will get you further than repeatedly working yourself to exhaustion.
Let your plans change.
A plan gives you a place to start. When circumstances change, pause and adjust it. During a review, ask what worked, what got in the way and what you’d do differently. Sonto has space for notes on your days, weeks and projects.
Use the structure you need.
You can start with your daily and weekly plans. Add projects, areas or tags when they become useful. The purpose of planning is to help you do the work you care about.
Where this comes from.
I’ve spent the past decade coaching people on how to plan their work and lives with more intention. The conversations, experiments and honest feedback from those people have shaped this method.
I’ve also learned a great deal from Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity, Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks, Rick Pastoor’s Grip, David Whyte’s The Three Marriages and David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
Sonto is my way of putting those lessons into practice. I hope it helps you do the same.
Bastiaan Terhorst