Focusing on your goals

When I do wiki training, I compare the wiki to Times Square in New York City. There's a whole heck of a lot going on, and it's really scary, quite frankly, for new users. There's a discussion over here, a blog post over here, and on and on. Lots of little tidbits of content in your face.

I think of this when I hear that about 8 million adults in the U.S. have ADHD. As we think about wiki design (and redesign), how can widgets or gadgets give these users -- really all users -- exposure to the bits of the wiki they need to accomplish a specific task, while not blitzing them with the 'Time Square' treatment whenever the log in? Sometimes going off on a wiki tangent is a good thing, but a lot of times it isn't, especially during the work week.

I wonder if some new business desktop widgets coming on the market might help modulate the flow of information hitting users' eyeballs?

What's your experience been? How can we help wiki users stay on task?