Let me paint a picture: It’s Sunday night. I’ve got six tabs open, a color-coded planner, Pinterest boards for days, and a “perfect” science lesson that’s about to require three hours of prep and a miracle to pull off.
Sound familiar?
Early in my teaching career, I believed that more = better. More slides, more activities, more labs, more stations, more copies… surely that meant more learning, right?
Spoiler alert: it didn’t.
In fact, all it did was leave me exhausted, behind on grading, and constantly stressed. My students were overwhelmed, and I couldn’t figure out why things didn’t feel as magical as I had planned. That’s when I learned the secret that changed everything: less is more.
The Overplanning Trap
Overplanning is rooted in good intentions. We want our students to be engaged and our lessons to be impactful. But packing too much into one day (or even one unit) often leads to shallow understanding and rushed execution.
I realized I was focusing on doing all the things instead of doing the right things.
How I Found My Groove
1. I started planning for clarity, not quantity.
Instead of asking, “What else can I add?” I started asking, “What is the one big thing I want them to understand today?” Once I nailed that, I built one solid, engaging activity around it. That’s it. No bells and whistles required.
2. I gave space for thinking.
When I stopped cramming in every idea I loved, I created more time for student talk, reflection, and exploration. Turns out, they needed space too. Learning stuck better when I wasn’t rushing them to the next task.
3. I leaned on go-to routines.
Bell ringers, science notebooks, exit tickets — I stopped reinventing the wheel every day. Reusable structures made planning lighter and helped students know what to expect.
4. I ditched the guilt.
The truth? Simpler lessons often went better than the flashy ones. My students were more engaged, I had more energy, and I wasn’t constantly playing catch-up. I stopped apologizing for being “less extra” and started celebrating being more intentional.
So What Does “Less” Look Like?
- One engaging lab instead of three stations.
- A discussion with sentence stems instead of a 12-slide lecture.
- A clear learning target with one strong formative check, instead of five disjointed activities.
Simple. Effective. Repeatable.
The Results
My classroom felt calmer. My students learned more. And I actually had time to enjoy teaching again.
If you’re stuck in the overplanning cycle, consider this your permission slip: you don’t have to do it all. Do less… better.
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