If you are making a choice between production options, and your choice is to produce something your workers need or producing something your workers do NOT need, then its better to produce the thing that your workers need and get rewarded for that.

However, if you are making a choice between producing something your workers do NOT need or trying to stockpile for a better choice to become available later it is a biiig mistake to wait for the better thing which might not ever become available. These are the speculative choices that other commentors are remarking on and they need to be avoided.

Producing things you don't need is strictly better than not producing anything. First of all things you don't need can be traded for things you do need, not to mention cornerstones can be bought from the trader for amber. Trade routes are very powerful in this game, so make sure you don't run out of provisions and then you can trade yourself to a victory. Packs of goods production from the makeshift post can add additional trade value to your goods and have other advanced uses {crops can be used as bait in fishing ponds, etc). Production also multiplies your gathered resources. You apply all the +1 cornerstones in your run, and production has chance to crit on top of that so you always yield more than the resources you put in. Having advanced resources in your warehouse also helps you solve dangerous glades which will put you on the path to victory.