Something a bit like that is part of how I got the Lisp Hacker merit badge.
I wanted a Lisp to be my new platform language for rapid systems research. And I had to spend most of each day on my laptop, from cafes and parks around town, with very little Internet access.
So I got all the docs locally, and I kludged up Emacs as a power-efficient "IDE" (including avoiding having to run a bloated Web browser), to help keep the hard drive spun down and CPU slowed.
Then I simply did a lot of programming, without distractions like open plan offices and pointless meetings. Even though I might be sitting against a tree in a busy park, and then have to move to a noisy cafe to recharge battery. Still so much less distracting and less stressful than an open plan office.
Having started using emacs in the 80s, it’s strange to read about it being the power-efficient choice now.
I agree it was for you, but it had well-earned the “eight megabytes and constantly swapping” reputation 35 years ago.