I think it depends on the purpose of the project. If it's something that you actually want to finish soon, I think this is great advice. Having said that, there

I think it depends on the purpose of the project. If it's something that you actually want to finish soon, I think this is great advice. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with using a side project as a way to find out what the "best" way to do something is. I personally have an ongoing side project that I will likely never actually complete because I rewrite large parts of it every couple months, but I have learned a LOT about various design patterns, how best to structure code, etc, precisely because I use it primarily as a place to experiment with code. If you don't see the finished product as the end in and of itself, then I don't see anything wrong with that.