The Tool That Finally Gave Me My Weekends Back

Lesson Planning Before Common Planner

I used to plan on paper. A big binder. A giant desk calendar. Erasable pens everywhere.

And with a class that needed extra time on tough concepts — especially math — I found myself erasing, rewriting, crossing out, and shifting things constantly. If a lesson needed reteaching, everything after it had to be reworked. New arrows. New boxes. New abbreviations just so I didn't have to rewrite everything again.

It got messy fast.

I couldn't plan more than a week at a time, because I knew I'd just be erasing half of it anyway. And every weekend, without fail, I spent around four hours getting the next week ready.

If I was home and realized I forgot my Bible or science book — which aren't online — I couldn't do anything until I drove back to school. Everything took longer than it needed to.

It worked… but it definitely wasn't efficient.

"I used to spend about four hours every weekend planning. I don't do that anymore."

Lesson Planning With Common Planner

When I switched to Common Planner, everything changed.

Right away, typing instead of handwriting made planning faster. I could open my book, type what I needed, and move on. No more erasing or rewriting when plans shifted.

But the real game changer?

The bump feature.

When my class needs to redo a lesson, I just click the three dots, hit Bump Lesson, and everything automatically moves forward.

No rewriting. No arrows. No chaos.

"When I need to reteach a lesson, I just hit Bump — everything moves for me."

If I've planned a month ahead, everything stays intact. I can copy the bumped lesson so my admin can see we taught it twice. And I can finally look ahead and pace out my units based on where the year is heading.

My weekly view stays open as a bookmark. Every morning, I pull up my three tabs — email, Common Planner, Classroom Screen — and I'm ready to go.

And the best part?

Those four hours I used to lose every weekend…

I don't lose them anymore.

Why I Love Common Planner

Common Planner gives me back time — real time.

I don't spend my weekends buried in planning. I don't rewrite the same lesson twice. I don't scramble because I forgot a curriculum book at school.

It's simple, organized, and easy to adjust. And for a teacher with ADHD, having everything in one clean, digital space makes a huge difference.

"Common Planner finally gives me back my time."

I finally have a planning system that works with me, not against me.