I’m actually the opposite. For me, composing tunes without a purpose turns into me just writing what I like without considering a practical use. I get a catalog full of things no one wants and wasted a lot of time. I know that’s not everyone, but it’s definitely a problem for me.
My goal is to make money, so I don’t like wasting my time composing things for myself, hoping someone else will use it. Even when I compose for libraries, I compose while watching videos from Vimeo or YouTube as if I’m doing custom work. I use videos that match the genre or mood I want to write that day. The end result tends to be much more practical and useful as library music than what I tend to compose with no inspiration. Because I always compose this way, custom work for me is pretty easy and deadlines aren’t a problem. Sometimes, I just pull up something I already wrote but don’t have in a library. I don’t mind revisions and the money is A LOT more than what you get for the typical RF standard license. One custom job for something that gets broadcasted can be worth the full value of 10 or more AJ broadcast licenses and you can still get performance royalties.