"I feel pretty down and my dayjob is meaningless to me" Do you have hobbies? There's many to choose from :) Ask yourself, what does have meaning to you? The

"I feel pretty down and my dayjob is meaningless to me" Do you have hobbies? There's many to choose from :) Ask yourself, what does have meaning to you? There is more to life than a job. "should i pick up a sideproject I've committed to that i kind of care about instead, and think is interesting?" This might be a good idea. If you would find it meaningful and emotionally rewarding. "Or ditch that as well and just take rest/go travel?" Is there someplace you have always wanted to go? Rest is good, but it sounds like you aren't overworked, as much as just not being stimulated. As far as I can tell. "Can i still work while recovering? What's a good workload?" If you have the savings, I wouldn't. "I'm considering taking a sick leave till the end of my contract next month" If you absolutely need to. But it might mean not getting a good reference. Can you stick it out(assuming you dont already have another lined up)?