How To Study Effectively While Travelling

There are lots of things in life that will feel – and actually be – important. Studying is one of them. If you want to achieve your goals and work in the career you want to work in (and do well in that career), you’ll need to study.

In many cases, this will mean attending college to obtain a degree and even continuing your education to get a higher level of education. This will depend on what you want out of your life in terms of your job. 

However, travel is also considered important. It is said that travel broadens the mind and gives you more opportunities. You’ll explore new places and meet new people, and you’ll do all this while pushing your limits and your comfort zone. 

Yet it would be impossible to travel and study at the same time, wouldn’t it? You would have to pick one or the other and prioritize either travel or study. This is a hard choice; both are life-enhancing, but which is most important? 

The truth is, you don’t have to choose. Is it actually possible to travel and study at the same time.

Of course, you’ll still have to study in the right way if you want to achieve the results you need, which is why it’s important to ensure you know what you’re doing and how you’re going to study while you travel.

If you’re not sure, here are some tips to help you study effectively even while you’re travelling. Read on to find out more. 

Choose An Accessible Course 

Some courses are much easier (although this does not mean they are easy) to study effectively while you are traveling than others. Some, particularly those that include a practical element, just won’t be possible, and you really will have to choose one idea over the other.

However, some courses are just right for this kind of study. These are the ones that don’t require any practical work, don’t require any group work, and are flexible.

A perfect example would be the MBA management course. You can study this course online at your own place, ensuring that you can take your time, enjoy your travels, and study too. 

When you pick the right course, you will be free to travel if you want to and carry on studying simultaneously.

This means that not only will you obtain the qualification you are looking for, and enjoy the opportunities that travel will bring you.

You might even find inspiration in your journey that will help you focus on your studies more. 

No matter what degree you are studying for, if you are traveling simultaneously, you must be careful to strike the right balance.

Too much studying means you may as well have stayed at home as you’ll be missing out; too much exploring and your studies will suffer.

Make a plan before you go and try to stick to it, ensuring you can do everything you want to do and move forward in your studies too. 

Choose A Course Abroad 

Although online courses are perhaps the very best option when you are traveling, there is another choice if you prefer. You could apply to study at a college in the country you have traveled to.

This can be ideal if you are planning to stay in one place for a long enough time – you’ll not only obtain a useful degree, but you’ll be able to entirely immerse yourself in the culture, make friends, and try something new and exciting.

Applying for a course in a foreign country will need some extra thought and some additional work, particularly if the language spoken there is not your first language.

However, taking on this challenge can look extremely positive in the eyes of a potential employer, and if you can do it, it’s certainly worth considering. 

If you intend to visit a lot of places during your travels and you don’t think you’ll be staying in any one city or even country for much longer than a few weeks or even days, then this idea won’t work for you, and you’ll need to look into online courses once more.

Think carefully about your plans for your travels and your plans for the future, and see what is going to work best for you. 

Plan Your Itinerary Around Course Requirements

No matter what kind of course you are studying, whether it’s a Ph.D., a master’s, a bachelor’s, or some other qualification, there are sure to be assessments that take place from time to time.

These might be in the form of examinations or perhaps coursework such as essays or a dissertation. It’s crucial you have the dates of these assessments in mind and that you plan your traveling – and your travel itinerary – around them.

Otherwise, you might find that you have put a lot of hard work into something only to discover that you’ve missed a deadline or an important exam.

You’ll also need to know how these assessments are to be taken. Will they be in person? If so, you’ll need to be at home to attend.

Have The Right Tech With You 

If they can be virtual, then you can be traveling as long as you remember to set time aside to not only be part of the assessment or exam but to prepare and be sure you can give your best, no matter what is required of you. 

This idea might seem like an obvious one, but if you don’t take your laptop, smartphone, chargers, thumb drives, or anything else you need to be able to do your studying in the most effective way with you when you travel, you’re going to have some big problems.

You won’t be able to do the work you need to do, and this could affect your entire degree. 

When you are travelling, especially when you are visiting a lot of places in one trip, it is often best to travel light. Equally, you’ll want to save money, and you might decide to stay in hostels or perhaps campsites.

The question is, are you going to be able to carry your important – and often expensive – possessions around with you so you can study while you travel?

Plus, are you going to be happy to leave them in your room or tent if you don’t want to take everything with you all the time? 

If you don’t want to be burdened with the actual items or the responsibility of taking care of them because you feel it would ruin your trip in some way, then it might be best to postpone your studies – or your trip. 

Although we have been talking about how you would need to pick either studying or traveling, the reality is that you could do both but not do them simultaneously.

The problem with this idea is that everything would take much longer. You would need to add your expected travelling time – which could be many months – onto your study time, meaning that you won’t be able to earn money or start your job for much longer. 

This is why it’s so important to decide whether you are happy to wait and study then travel or vice versa, or you need to do them both at the same time.

Understanding the option that will work best for you is crucial because it will directly impact your entire life. 

Take Care Of Yourself 

Something that might easily be forgotten if you are trying to travel and study effectively at the same time is that you need to take care of yourself. Trying to do too much won’t make you more productive.

It will simply make you unwell, unable to study due to lack of motivation, and unable to enjoy your trip due to worrying about the studying that you’re meant to be doing but haven’t got round to yet.

Rather than running the risk of burnout and ruining both your chance to study and your traveling adventures, you need to take care of yourself.

If you can do this, you’ll find you’re much more able to make the most of whatever time you have allocated to both aspects of being away from home. 

It’s so easy to get carried away and try to do everything possible when you’re traveling because you don’t want to miss out, but it’s far better to prioritize and ensure you take breaks where you can.

Sometimes a day doing nothing isn’t wasted; it’s actually exactly what’s needed. You’ll be more focused and alert after getting some rest and ideally a good night’s sleep, so you’ll get a lot more done as a result. 

Sleep is important, but so is eating well. Again, it’s easy when you’re away from home and having a good time to overindulge in food that’s bad for you.

However, although this might feel good at the time, the reality is that it will make you feel sluggish and unwell, and that’s not conducive to a great holiday or effective studying.

Treat yourself on occasion, but otherwise, stay healthy when it comes to your food choices, and the results will speak for themselves.