Unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean, I don't see this as a bad habit at all. I often start with a large (not always maxmized, but usually lfar larger than I think I'll need) BD, write my code, then I arrange things to a more pleasing layout, then I resize the window to suit. That one resize at the end is much better than several resizes in the middle to make the BD larger - that would really get in the way of my (data)flow.
Reference please - I've never heard that.
Damn right! Although we have the white noise thing going on here (and it makes a big difference), we have a "quiet room" set up with two mega-workstations with docks, comfy chairs (including a couple for reading) where anyone can go to get away from it all. The rules are simple:
no cell phones
no talking
if the door is closed, don't bother anyone in there unless it's an emergency (eg: the "building is on fire!", not "Can I eat your pizza rolls in the freezer?")
I once avoided my boss for days in that room...