My current role is that of a principal engineer or quasi-architect and I do exactly this when I need to make a decision regarding which direction we're going to go with something.
An environment that is conducive to your subconscious performing well really helps.
In my younger days, I'd run for 30mins outside often times without any music. During those runs, I'd let my thoughts bubble up. It was a welcome chance to let my brain tell me what was bothering it. Sometimes these would be technical problems du jour, but after handling those, nearly always there would be a social problem, usually interpersonal, that would bubble up. It was a very good technique to identify those issues organically.
Something about the kinematic state also made it easier to accept, process, and set aside the idea than it would be if I was sitting in a room silently.
Nowadays, any time I'm doing anything involving semi-repetitious kinematic activity, I find myself making a choice between listening to something, music or a podcast, or simply nothing and using the time to sort through what ails me. There is a certain mental healing that comes with certain physical activities.
Yep, I'm a lap swimmer. It's amazing what your mind does in that state.
Can you describe what you've found are key traits of that type of environment?
I have a very peaceful home. It's quiet, safe, a little remote, about an hour or two northwest of Austin in the Hill Country. I have a library in my house where I do most of my work, and sometimes I get on my motorcycle and ride for a bit into the middle of nowhere, which becomes meditative, much like swimming, allowing my mind to work through problems on its own in a very beautiful environment.
I can work (whether it's actual coding or sitting quietly in thought) for 12-14 hours a day, max. Then I must stop and get 7-8 hours of sleep. That balance of good sleep and hard work is key to maximizing productivity and the ability to solve problems during available work hours.
A healthy diet free from high-glycemic foods and foods with a high inflammation index is also very important.
People often experience something like this while driving, when you just get an instinct that a kid is going to jump out, or that other car isn't going to stop, without having consciously paid attention to it. You slam on the brakes and are left with that feeling that you just KNEW that was going to happen. A part of you did know it, and foregrounded that prediction when enough variables lined up, overriding whatever you were previously thinking about.