A plurality of individual positions arranged on a surface area are toured. The individual positions are grouped such that each group occupies a continuous partial area in the positioning plane. The groups are ordered so that the partial areas adjoin each other, forming in their totality a geometrical coarse structure. The individual positions are continuously indexed such that their sequence follows the geometrical coarse structure. The indexing of the individual positions is altered in sections such that the time required for sequentially touring all the individual positions of a section is minimized.