If you are worried that you are experiencing depression, you should see a doctor/psychiatrist and get a professional opinion at the very least.

It depends on where you work for burn out. It can happen again, but it would seem that now you're experienced you would probably notice some signs that you are. I would try to get a gig somewhere that can be a bit more relaxed. Contracting work can lead to burn out quite typically, but a good day to day job won't always.

I've experienced burn out after several attempts at personal projects where I needed a team, found one and they didn't pull their weight, or I didn't find a team and tried to do it all myself. It goes away in due time and sometimes the scariest thing is returning to work after burn out (gun shy).

My best advice is that you're 26 and in a great place to earn money cause you're young. I wouldn't dive deep into crypto-currency. I'd say take a look at what you want your passion to be and head that direction. The only way you can move forward is by trying something and seeing if it really is you, it's okay if it isn't there is a whole world of opportunity and possibilities out there.

You mentioned you miss traveling. Have you thought about studying abroad?

As far as time management goes, it is hard. If it was easy to manage time and get things done, the world would be a much more perfect place. A lot of things are hard and you will feel as if you have less time growing up. So you'll need to start forcing yourself into better habits. There is no secret sauce, only your persistence.

All I can say is that it sounds like you may need to answer some questions for yourself. If you are close to finishing your 4 year degree, it may not be a terrible idea to see that through. That university degree is a good thing if the economy goes to shit.

  The idea of a traditional job isn't fun,
  but that sounds pretentious of me,
  doesn't it?

The only part that sounds bad, is that you (counterproductively) feel some insidious kind of shame for casting off the shackles of traditional work. In reality, it often sucks to work for the man even if you're making millions a year.

Maybe there's more to life than marching in a straight line.

Fuck your recruiter. His job is to connect BOTH ends of the deal, not just to satisfy the hiring party. It's not your fault that he couldn't sell you on a job.

Go travel for a bit; your career will not magically disappear during a vacation, even for several months.

And check out this poem, Desiderata by Max Ehrmann:

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Passion is overrated. No, worse than that. All that advice about "finding your passion", etc. for work, is corrosive.

Oh, yes, there are people who love X, make a career out of it, and continue doing X for the rest of their life and are successful.

While there are people who love X, trying to make a living doing X, only to find it's not a viable career. Only, their "passion" makes them continue to do X far longer than they should, causing them to burn out.

There are all sorts of fields where the number of passionate people are far greater than the number of available jobs. Look at people who are passionate about dance, or sports, or horses, or art. Only a few of them can make a living from it. Yet everyone successful had to be passionate about it.

Now, get this. There are also people who start doing Y because a job is available, and find that, after a while, they enjoy doing Y. Some even find they are passionate about the job. Others use the money from Y so they can do what they are really passionate about as a hobby.

(And sometimes that hobby can, over time, become a career. I knew someone who was a manager of the grounds crew for the local cemetery, and a hobbyist woodworker. There was enough demand for he work that he now makes custom furniture for a living.)

The worst case in this scenario is to find that they really don't like Y, but nothing says you have to do Y for the rest of your life, and at least you have the money saved up to support you while you switch jobs. Otherwise, a lot of people do X for a living, and let the income fund their passion as a hobby.

(For another example, my dentist decided to stop his practice and be a musician. I think it was a mid-life crisis, but at least he had the money saved up for it.)

Here's another thing - most jobs aren't fun. Most jobs are boring. For that matter, David Graeber argues that most jobs are bullshit, that is (quoting https://www.strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs ):

> The answer clearly isn't economic: it's moral and political. The ruling class has figured out that a happy and productive population with free time on their hands is a mortal danger (think of what started to happen when this even began to be approximated in the '60s). And, on the other hand, the feeling that work is a moral value in itself, and that anyone not willing to submit themselves to some kind of intense work discipline for most of their waking hours deserves nothing, is extraordinarily convenient for them.

One way to interpret the general call for "passion" in your job is that reinforces the cultural norm "to submit themselves to some kind of intense work discipline".

As for your specific situation, not all work environments are like Microsoft. There are companies which are more supportive of their employees. One friend of mine, with a mostly system adminstration job, worked for several programming-centered companies for a while, but it wasn't until he worked for a company doing light industrial work where he really enjoyed himself in his job. He liked that they were making actual things, rather than bits, and the owner/boss also did a great job of looking out for the employees.

If you're currently making $3000/month = $36K/year, then that doesn't give you time for the one thing you said that you are passionate about - international travel. While $50/hour is $100K/year. That's much more than is needed to support a travel hobby.

You might consider looking at how much vacation time you have for a given company, or negotiate for more unpaid time off instead of salary.

Or, since your in your 20s, it's pretty common to change jobs. Some people will work for a company for a year or two, then take 3 months off for travel, then work again.

Ignore what a recruiter thinks. Making you happy is far down the list of what they are supposed to be doing.

And drop this idea that you need to make your body "perfect." That's another corrosive attitude. Your body will never be perfect, making it all to easy to give up before doing what you should be doing, which is to get some exercise every day. It could be walking, dancing, going to the gym, cycling, swimming, martial arts ... something that gets you moving.

(Edit: To be clear, "exercise" doesn't have to mean a gym membership or something formal. At your age I mostly bicycled for local errands, like shopping. It helped that I was still in a college town. Later I walked my partner's dog for 30-45 minutes. Later I started salsa dancing, and go to the point where I was dancing 4-5 times per week. (A passion, perhaps, but not a good career choice.) Now I walk, and swim 30 minutes twice weekly. :)