If there's one thing that every teenager has in common, it's stress. Stress from having to please fifty different people all at once, with only 24 hours in one day. People like your parents, teachers, friends, cousins, idols and most importantly yourself. In the end whatever you do pleases you because you're glad you're finished with one task, even though there's another one waiting around the corner. When you're a teen, you're old enough to be doing things for yourself without supervision but also still young enough to be told what to do and when to do it and get told off when it's not done. (And I swear to God deadlines will be the death of me)

We have to do homework if we want to get out of school when it ends and not have to stay behind in a dreaded detention doing it then. We have to do it if we want to do well in school to bring pride to ourselves, our families and our teachers, or even just to graduate successfully as a big "hahaa fuck you I'm knowledgeable" to some arrogant cock who denied you that wisdom. We have to do chores to make our homes a nice place for us to want to hang around in doing said homework or even just living in. And we do it for our parents most of all because they finance the thing and are caught up in their own work to wash the dishes they fed you with or hoover the floor or tidy away some... shit. We have to socialise to connect with people which is beneficial to our health because it's enjoyable (if you're with the right kind of people of course and you like them). We have to live in our hobbies as well, if that's using the internet, making things or reading/watching something. Whatever it may be, we have to work hard and play hard and eat and sleep inbetween otherwise we couldn't function happily.

When we get the work done then we feel proud for doing it and others will be pleased of you for doing it too, even if they may not necessarily have asked you. And once we've worked hard we can relax and indulge in the "play". In the end we do things to benefit ourselves, it's a bit selfish really but whatever we accomplish, we feel better about ourselves for it. That's all we really need to do, keep ourselves happy and content by organising our lives into 24 hours a day so we don't go insane! And when you are happy, you can pass it on to those around you. So don't slack off because you can "do it later" because if you do it now, it's done and you can move on without it niggling at the back of your mind. Don't forget to take breaks either - research says work for 50-60 minutes at a time with 10 minute breaks.

Think, is it really worth never doing? If I do it now, I can forget about it and get on with something more fun. Never sacrifice sleep for any work, no matter who asked you to do it or when it has to be finished by, sleep and you have the energy to finish it at some point the next day. An even split of work and play is best - guilt free.

What I'm saying is, figure out some sort of routine and when motivation is absent, force yourself to stick to it so you can be over with the burdens of chores and work and get on with being a human, having fun and feeling free. You'll feel much better when you have the afternoon/evening to yourself to do anything or nothing.