I'm a student (yet to go to uni) and I've been programming for about 5 years now. Over that time, I've flitted around from language to language, from API to API, and project to project. I've tried setting myself on one thing, but I lose interest. My entire PC is full of half finished projects (and at least four times as many have been formatted off my disk).
I start to wonder if my lower motivation towards programming for the fun of it (it is one activity I really enjoy) is because I never get a finished project at the end. I can't tell if I just have too open ended goals, or just a low attention span. I tried doing some smaller projects just to finish them, but they do not interest me at all.
Could this be a cause for my drop in motivation? Also, when I apply to go to uni (and in the future hopefully, a software job) is it likely to be an issue?
In summary:
How important is it to finish side/hobby projects, be it for career, motivation, or education?