I've heard the stories (have even done it myself ) Necessity can be the proverbial mother of invention so:

Have you ever '"creatively" performed remote operation using a piece of wood, rope, or something similar to increase the distance when operating a switch, circuit breaker etc.?

Yes
No

Older G&W Oil Switches (Load Break, 15kV) actually have a warning label, instructing user to operate the handle with a rope. I think these were aftermarket labels provided by the manufacturer, before my time.

Still have 5-6 of these switches left, trying to get them replaced.

I have not but I have seen a now retired co-worker close a switch in a very old 208V switchboard with a 2x4. Turned the actual handle and it only partially moved then broke. Opened the door and used the 2x4 like a hammer to force the switch close.

Yes there are creative ways. I hear about them a lot in the electrical safety classes that I teach. See the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R10jy4Zqk08

We do this weekly if not daily with low voltage equipment. 99% of the time we are outside the room and only basic PPE. Once you get used to this type of system it does work a lot better than I thought it would.

As a stop gap to buy time to implement our arc flash plan we did an engineering notice that encourage the use of rope and pulley and hot sticks made for use with small breakers. Also in the case of a high crane we installed a switch actuator the could be use for remote activation. The pushbuttons were 15 feet out side the arc flash boundary. The crane walkway was a crowded 36" (480' high) which made it difficult to justify the use the 2 seconds rule.