Jon Udel, a former journalist for the Byte magazine, has mention some work related to Adaptive user interfaces for focused attention.
For instance he introduces the notion of a distraction-free desktop.

http://blog.jonudell.net/2007/02/14/adaptive-ui-for-focused-attention/

Some extract:

The goal of the search strategy I outlined the other day was to find Mary Czerwinski, a Microsoft researcher, and interview her for a podcast. I did find her, and the resulting podcast is here. We had a great time talking about ways that adaptive user interfaces can leverage spatial and temporal memory, about ambient awareness of team activity, and about the proper role of interruptions in the modern work environment.