This is very true, but note that the same applies to the projects themselves, too. If a project itself has no purpose (i.e. is just providing a justification t

This is very true, but note that the same applies to the projects themselves, too. If a project itself has no purpose (i.e. is just providing a justification to code something), you will 1) experience that the project scope will expand into many directions, leading to an overhelming amount of ideas and work, and/or 2) you will abandon the project early on, after you have written a lot, but before you have learned much. This is usually a demotivating experience, followed by a guilty feeling of not having "finished" it. You need at least one real user for that project, be it yourself, some friend, or a charity organization. That way, you will find it more easy to limit the project scope and to stick to realistic goals. This will be more motivating and satisfying, even if it ends up not being used in the real world. Along that route, you will probably learn more, and the things you learn will be more useful to you.