One of the biggest hardware, space, and workflow challenges I've had over the past several years has been how to focus on writing. I am not generally a believer in "distraction-free writing environments" especially when talking about using vintage computers that way. I am, however, a believer in other things that encourage good writing habits.
I'm a strong believer in the idea that there are things you can do to encourage you to write, but that you won't write unless you're ready. I've found space to be a good helper, but I've never figured out exactly what influences my productivity while writing.
I have never had trouble writing on any given computer. I don't need a computer to be set up in such a way as to be distraction free, nor do I need to do things like set up specific vintage computers to encourage writing. (Not to mention the perhaps somewhat obvious workflow limitations of using a vintage computer for writing, at least the writing I do.)
I have a theory that it's not the computer or even the place, but the way that place is set up. With a recent change to my living arrangement (short version: I have a housemate now) I'm forced to come up with creative places for things I use. For the first time since I've moved into the house, I have a computer in a formal location in my bedroom. Right now, it's just a little table with a chair at it, and the laptop floats back and forth between my recliner chair and the table, but I do find that writing at this little table is a bit more productive.
It's probably just because it's easier to force "distraction-free" if I only need to do it to one computer at a time. Maybe I'll see if I can use this setup to do that photo tagging I've been meaning to do for several years now. I wonder what it would look like if I set the desktop up in that space. I seem to have a lot more luck with writing and other productivity on laptop form factors. I don't know if it's just because I'm used to it, or if it's because my desktops almost always have a lot of other stuff nearby and it's hard to get into a particular flow when I have several computers competing for my attention.
It works well to have a bunch of computers at work, if only because the very nature of my work is that I am switching between tasks so fast that it doesn't make a difference if they're on one system or the next. The core of that work is being contacted for assistance. If I had a job where I had to focus on a single task or project, I'd probably reduce to a single machine, maybe even switch to an all-in-one and a single display.
I have a feeling that with a little more reason to do it and a few more tables overall, I would be that person whose desktop is painstakingly cleaned and has one computer set up in such a way that the space still looks minimalistic, either the tower would be hiding elsewhere or it would be an all-in-one computer.
And perhaps that's the secret I keep missing. I have had some luck at my tall desk which just has the fast PC at it, but maybe I should set up a similar sitting desk, or get a better chair for the tall desk.
One of the places I'm most productive is away from my home. I think there's a magical combination of only having one screen available, being away from certain resources such as your fast home Internet, your media library, and so on, and the feeling that your time spent in a public space such as a café or a restaurant must be spent well. I've also had good luck writing when I'm on battery, although I don't think that's a specific requirement.
It usually helps to have an idea of what I'm going to write. Whether it's a vague idea, a draft I am going to rewrite, or a specific outline.
I even find workflows where I need to do multi-tasking, such as bouncing ideas off an IRC channel, using a web browser for research and links, a text editor or OneNote for holding onto temporary bits of text, and then my word processor or other writing program for the actual text to work better when I'm on the go.
Much of this applies to tasks other than writing, the biggest problem is that writing is one of the easiest things to do on the go. Doing more intensive tasks on the go either requires that I can reliably work at home or that I have a bigger, faster mobile computer that holds more data and also reliably runs for a long time on its battery. More to come on that issue though.