NDB Tracking Isn't Clicking

For some reason, NDB tracking and intercepting is remaining foreign to me. I can do it in the aircraft. But in a classroom or oral exam situation, it somehow fails me. When my instructor gives me a sample tracking problem, I freeze up like Larry the Cable Guy taking an IQ test.

I think the main confusion is that it's non-directional and I'm fixating on the compass rose for relative bearing. If I don't figure it out by Monday, it could possibly put me behind schedule. Ideally, I'd like to have a stage check next Saturday.

Does anyone know a simple method for intercepting specific bearings to & from an NDB? I can't seem to get it right and my instructor can't explain it to me in a way that my simple mind can comprehend.

I'm grateful to say that this is the first thing (and hopefully the last) that's actually confused me so far.

The bummer thing is that even though NDB's are yesterday's news and many are being decommissioned, it's still in the PATS. I doubt I'll ever apply it in anything other than training and check rides. Are there any commercial guys out there that fly in civilization and use NDB's for instrument approaches?

Did I mention that I really hate NDB navigation other than direct-to?