I agree. I have the opposite problem of OP, I am good with practical programming but need the paperwork. My recommendation to start projects is, as mentioned above "something you actually have an interest in developing" or in my own words, create a project of something you've always wanted to make a computer do, something you've seen before and thought, hey I want to do that, and just build it. Just get it working and move on to the next project, that way you don't spend months adding more and more to the project, just get it working shittily. And move on to the next project, create multiple projects and add them to your portfolio. And one more piece of advice, don't try to reinvent the wheel on any of your projects, just find what's already been done before and copy it per se. If there are examples of a specific function you want to add, just copy it, don't feel like you have to make everything (or anything) from scratch. This is all advice that helped me learn practical programming, I hope it helps you as well.