I make lots of short little songs to quickly free-associate and achieve a different sound. Just for the sound. Sometimes you quickly learn something you will like to use in a full production.
Also tracking covers is a good discipline. Could be game music, or your favorite rock/pop/etc track. Or just fucking up someone else's source file.
I learned a lot going into your sources actually. Them crazy beats man. After a while, it made my beat concept better.
Ultimately, I think any and all music experience adds to the whole. I was always unstructured at my multi-track vocal/guitar tunes but now that i've spent more time using trackers, i find myself going into the multi-track recorder and my concept of structure is more in place for that medium, totally unrelated to using trackers other than overall music making experience.
i just recorded this in multi-track yesterday. now i take it and cut up the WAVs into small segments and load into tracker for better control, editing, mixing and production:
http://www.directionless.mynoisebleeds.com/music/precious_mixdown01.mp3
But the point here is that even the preproduction recording as-is is way better than they used to be. And somehow, what i've learned using trackers has been a big part of that. I'm sure it works both ways.
*EDIT - Here is where this 'Precious' song is at now that it is chopped up and produced all in the tracker.
http://www.directionless.mynoisebleeds.com/music/JohnDietzel_Precious.mp3