Hi there! My name is Juliana, I am currently a Junior here at Suffolk majoring in Psychology and got the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Madrid during my Sophomore year, Spring 2023 semester. Studying abroad was such an amazing experience, I had so much fun while in Madrid, as well as while traveling, but it became hard at times to manage schoolwork, traveling, and generally my free time. So, I want to share my experience with my time management to hopefully help others in their abroad experiences! 

While studying abroad, your professors know you are there to travel, gain new experiences, and gain new independence, but that does not mean it will always be easy to do so! The idea is to study abroad, that is why you are there! Finding a balance between studying and having fun while abroad is important, a good start is to set limits for yourself right off the bat. What days are you going to reserve for doing your work? Where do you draw the line? 

For me, I spent most of my weekends in Madrid, with weekends of travel roughly every other week. On weekends when I knew I would be traveling, I would ALWAYS finish my work before leaving for my new destination. Often, this would mean having all my work due for the next week done by Wednesday night, as I luckily did not have Friday class, I would often spend Thursday afternoons traveling.  

But how do you hold yourself to this standard? Where is the motivation to get all your work done for the week by a specific date? For me, it was easier to do this by planning out certain parts of my days I would spend at my desk working on homework and studying. Most frequently, it would be the time between class and dinner, this way I was never up too late scrambling to finish my work. Find a time that works best for you to set a realistic routine that you can follow every week. Some ways to stay on track are setting up a calendar with the due dates of all your assignments, doing work for certain classes on certain days to spread out your time, or finding a fun place where you can focus and get work done, such as a park, cafe, or restaurant (although, I always found it easiest to focus at my desk).

Of course, you will have slip-ups, procrastination is inevitable when there are so many distractions! There were some weeks when things would come up, such as forgetting about an assignment, getting sick, or just pushing it off for Sunday night. Some professors may be accommodating as you are there to have the study abroad experience, however, some may not be! For me, this was a quickly learned lesson and is what helped me create my routine in the first place!

Although studying is important, it is also important to take care of yourself and have fun! Self-care is very important. If you don’t take time for yourself away from study, school, and travel, you can burn out quickly! If you are feeling overwhelmed, it’s okay to take a break! You are there to learn in school, but also learn in your new environment, to have fun, and to make memories you sure won’t forget!