Insanity, the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.

We all do it: repeat what we know does not work for us. Stopping at the grocery store during rush hour to “just grab bread” is a frustratingly slow task every time. Yet we do it over and over, hoping for different results.

Studying can be equally frustrating. You read a chapter in the textbook, but nothing clicks or sticks. So you re-read the chapter – nothing. So you desperately try to find a section – any section! – to re-read, hoping for different results but getting nowhere. So …

Stop. Just stop.

Try something different. Read the chapter aloud, for example, so you see and hear the words. Look at just the diagrams first, then read.

Or, say the subject is crazy complicated, like the endocrine system. (Seriously, who’s even heard of that before taking Anatomy & Physiology?) Google it for  a different explanation before returning to your textbook – just to help you get the main ideas. Look for video; your textbook may even recommend some.

If you’ve made a stack of flashcards for terms related to the endocrine system, but they just don’t stick, stop. Just stop. Ask a friend to read the cues, or use their flashcards instead.

When the brain gets “stuck,” so to speak, you have to shake it loose.

Our tutors, btw, all have great study skills. You can always ask them for ways to shake up studying and stop the insanity.