The invention discloses a method for optimizing the distribution of the resources of a scanning sensor over a number of areas, where each area can have demands for sensor resources. Said demands are expressed as a dwell time and a revisit time, and the method comprises assigning to each of said number of areas a priority, and compiling the total demands for resources. The total demand is comparedwith the total sensor resources, and if the total demand and total resources do not match, the total resources are distributing according to said priority. Preferably, the demand for sensor resourcesin a area is calculated as the ratio between dwell time and revisit frequency.