How do you motivate yourself to do un-motivating work?
bhousel: Sometimes when I'm feeling unmotivated or depressed, it helps to remind myself about some of the struggles that other people around the world are dealing with.For example, I'm sure the average teenager in Afghanistan or the Democratic Republic of Congo would love to trade places with you.  Did you know that 80% of humanity lives on less than $10/day?  A shift in perspective might make your problems with school seem a bit more manageable.You don't have to apply yourself in school, but try to remind yourself that it's an opportunity that relatively few people in this world have access to.(As a side note, this highlights a failing of the school system itself -- they should probably put more emphasis on broadening your perspective.  It's sad that so many people go through the school system without understanding why they are there in the first place.)