Time-Saving Lesson Planning Tips Every TEFL Teacher Should Know
Save time, energy and reduce stress when planning for lessons.
Lesson planning shouldn’t take longer than the lesson itself. Yet many teachers find themselves drowning in prep time, leading to stress and burnout. The good news? You can cut your planning time in half without cutting corners. This guide will show you how.
Why lesson planning eats up time
It’s easy to overdo it:
New teachers often script lessons because they lack confidence.
Coursebooks don’t fit every class, so adapting them takes hours.
Online activity searches turn into endless scrolling.
The result: wasted time and mental fatigue before you even step into class.
Common mistakes that waste time
There are a few traps almost every teacher falls into. The first is writing out full scripts for every stage of a lesson. While this feels safe, it rarely helps in the classroom where flexibility matters more than perfect lines. Another is planning in isolation. Teachers often reinvent the wheel instead of recycling tried-and-tested ideas from past lessons. Finally, many teachers ‘overpack’ their lessons with too many activities, thinking more is better. This usually results in unfinished lessons, frustrated students, and wasted prep time.
If you recognise yourself here, you’re not alone. I made the same mistakes until I learned to step back, simplify, and lean on structures that work. My reflections on these missteps - and how to fix them - are collected in 7 lessons learned about lesson planning.
Quick planning frameworks that work
Stick to tried-and-true structures that save time:
ESA (Engage–Study–Activate): Quick, clear, easy to adapt.
Task-Based Learning (TBL): One central task with prep and follow-up.
Limit yourself to 3–4 core activities per lesson.
Always write a clear aim first: “By the end of the lesson, students will be better able to…”
Frameworks mean fewer choices, less stress, and faster planning.
Reuse, adapt, and build a bank
Planning is faster when you don’t start from scratch.
Lesson planning gets faster once you stop treating every class as a blank slate. I recommend building “lesson skeletons” - outlines you can easily adapt for different groups. Recycle activities that already work for you, whether they’re storytelling, debates, or roleplays. Keep a running file, digital or physical, of activities you enjoyed using. Over time, this becomes a treasure trove of ready-to-go ideas.
This approach doesn’t just save time, it improves your teaching because you refine and adapt activities instead of constantly chasing new ones. If you’re looking for practical shortcuts, I’ve written more about this in 4 ways to steal lesson ideas, which walks through how to build a resource bank from your own lessons and from others.
Over time, you’ll build your own library of ready-to-go lessons.
Design smarter tasks, not more tasks
The secret to faster planning isn’t adding more activities, it’s creating better ones. A well-designed task can run for half a lesson and keep students engaged without constant teacher input. For example, a roleplay where students design a product and pitch it to the class integrates speaking, vocabulary, and critical thinking all at once. That’s far more efficient than five separate activities.
To make this work, focus on outcomes. What will students actually produce or demonstrate at the end? If the answer is clear, you’re on the right track. I explain the process step-by-step in 5 steps to design kick-ass TEFL tasks. And if you want to understand the philosophy behind it, read whoever does the thinking gets the learning, which explains why students should do most of the work.
Let AI do the heavy lifting
ChatGPT and similar tools can take hours off your prep:
Generate warmers, gap-fills, roleplays, or discussion questions.
Adapt content instantly for different levels.
Get fresh ideas when you’re stuck.
Always check and tweak AI output, but let it handle the heavy brainstorming.
Final thoughts
Efficiency doesn’t mean cutting corners. It means focusing on what works and letting go of what doesn’t. If you can lean on frameworks, reuse activities, and let AI or your colleagues share the load, planning becomes lighter and more sustainable. Try one of these approaches in your next lesson and see how much time you save.
These tweaks make planning less of a burden and more of a habit.
If you liked this article, you’ll love my books:
📝 Lesson Planning for Language Teachers - Plan better, faster, and stress-free.
👩🎓 Essential Classroom Management - Develop calm students and a classroom full of learning.
🏰 Storytelling for Language Teachers - Use the power of storytelling to transform your lessons.
🤖 ChatGPT for Language Teacher 2025 - A collection of AI prompts and techniques to work better, faster.
💭 Reflective Teaching Practice Journal - Improve your teaching in five minutes daily.