I've known a number of musicians and writers who have gone on escape retreats to isolated areas in order to finish a book or an album, typically with a lot of success. Many of the most productive remote engineers I've worked with live in sparse areas where there is very little to do thats more fun than programming.
There's some merit to removing distractions when knocking out a marathon product build, but that said a good office environment can also serve the same purpose...
This reminds of Kanye West-- when he recorded his last solo album ('My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', which was unequivocally a critical and market smashing success), he rented a house in Hawaii with a studio in it, flew out all the producers/artists he needed to collaborate with, and maintained an demanding, consistent work schedule (napping in 90 minute intervals and working through the night) until he perfected the album.
It's probably not sustainable, but works really well for a concerted push.
There's some merit to removing distractions when knocking out a marathon product build, but that said a good office environment can also serve the same purpose...