every known independent invention of writing was for something different
sumerian cuneiform was invented for accounting
egyptian hieroglyphs were invented for telling (religious) stories
oracle bone script was invented for divination and possibly other magic
epi-olmec script was invented for timekeeping (similar to accounting but you count time instead of possessions)
quipu was apparently for accounting but it's unclear if it was an entire writing system or what its original purpose was
it's unclear what indus script was for or if it was entirely independent in the first place
same for the cascajal block, linear a, rongorongo, &c
additionally, for the two independent inventions of the movable-type printing press were first used to print
the jikji, a textbook on seon buddhism consisting mostly of quotations, and
the 42-line bible, an edition of the central holy text of christianity
the oldest known object with apparent utility markings of any kind on it (that i know of) is the ishango bone, which was likely used for tallying or other maths
that one chinese edition of the diamond sutra (a mahayana buddhist manual) from the 800s is commonly cited as the first block printed text but it's actually just the first one with a date written on it. block printing is several centuries older. the traditional history is that it was invented in the 480s by the contemporary equivalent of a magician, but prints of artistic designs exist from hundreds of years prior so who can say really
unicode exists because joe becker thought there were only ten writing systems in the world worth encoding and then he realised he was wrong
if there were any justice in the world your stories would be written in an egyptian-derived script, your taxes would be done in a cuneiform-derived script or perhaps quipu, your textbooks would be written in an oracle bone-derived script, and you would reckon time in ornately penned or typeset baktuns and winals and so on, and write the corresponding timetables, histories, or minutes in the same script. of course, i am equitable: personal communications, articles, subtitler, advertisements, signs, and labels may be written in your local script.
