Anna's Teaching Tales #8

How Anna Beat Burnout (and Found Her Mojo Again!)

It was 11.47pm.

Anna was hunched over her laptop, surrounded by crumpled worksheets, half a cup of cold tea, and the slightly frantic energy of someone who should’ve gone to bed two hours ago.

She was trying to plan a ‘fun’ lesson.
But her brain? Done. Fried. Offline.

The next morning, she dragged herself into class, clutching a pile of photocopies she barely remembered making.
The lesson kind of worked… but she felt like she’d run a marathon.
In heels.
Uphill.

That evening she messaged me:
‘Jo, I can’t keep going like this. I’m exhausted. I love teaching but I’m starting to hate planning.’

Oof. Been there?

If you’ve ever found yourself spending hours planning a lesson that takes 45 minutes to deliver and still feeling like it wasn’t quite right…
You are not alone.

👋 Quick intro if you’re new here—I’m Jo Gakonga. I’ve been teaching English for 35 years and training teachers on CELTA and MA TESOL courses for most of that time. I also run ELT-Training.com, where I make friendly, practical, video-based resources to help teachers feel confident and not completely burnt out. If that sounds good, like and subscribe—I’ve got a new video every week.

So—back to Anna.

She was doing what a lot of new teachers do:
Trying to reinvent the wheel for every lesson.
New activity. New worksheet. New idea. Every. Single. Time.

It’s unsustainable. And totally unnecessary.

First thing she did? She gave herself permission to reuse things.
That great lesson she’d made on food vocabulary?
She used it again.
Different class. Slight tweak. Still worked. No guilt.

✅ Jo’s Tip: Recycle your resources. If it worked once, it’ll probably work again.

Next, she started using what was already there.
Coursebooks. Teacher’s books. Online lesson plans. YouTube videos.
She stopped thinking she had to create everything from scratch to be a ‘good’ teacher.

Spoiler: good teachers adapt, not exhaust themselves.

✅ Jo’s Tip: Don’t be afraid to lean on existing material. Make it work for you, don’t let it work you into the ground.

Then she set a time limit for planning.
Yes, really.
She gave herself 30 minutes.
Planned the basics, focused on the core aims and let go of perfection.

Was every lesson a masterpiece?
No.
Were they solid, effective, and way less stressful?
Absolutely.

✅ Jo’s Tip: Timebox your planning. Done is better than perfect.

And finally, she started looking after herself.
A proper lunch break.
A walk after school.
Not answering emails at 10pm.
Revolutionary stuff.

She realised that she couldn’t pour from an empty cup.
And when she looked after herself a bit more, guess what?
She actually enjoyed teaching again.

✅ Jo’s Tip: Protect your energy. Teaching’s a marathon, not a sprint fuelled by caffeine and guilt.

A couple of weeks later, Anna sent me a message that made me smile:
‘Jo! I had a full weekend off. Didn’t plan a thing. And my lessons still went great!’

THAT is what we want to hear.

So if you’re teetering on the edge of the burnout cliff, remember:

• Reuse lessons and materials: no need to start from scratch
• Use what’s available: books, online stuff, teacher friends
• Time limit your planning: it will get quicker
• And for goodness’ sake, take care of you

And if you’d like more practical, supportive ideas for teaching without the burnout, pop over to my website.

Hope to see you there!