Retrospective Theatre: Perform Your Week to Audit Your Choices

It’s Friday arvo and you’re staring at a calendar that looks like a game of Tetris. You were busy every hour, but the big things didn’t move. You promise yourself next week will be different… only to rinse and repeat.

Try this instead: perform your week as if there’s an audience watching — real or imagined. When you “stage” your choices, the fluff falls away and the essentials stand out. I call it Retrospective Theatre.

What is Retrospective Theatre?

Retrospective Theatre is a short weekly ritual where you recount your last seven days as a mini-play. You give your week a title, walk through the scenes, name the characters (you, your stakeholders, your distractions), and close with “director’s notes” about what to keep, cut, and change.

Why it works:

• Story compresses noise. Performance forces you to focus on what mattered, not every notification.
• Built-in accountability. The idea of an audience (even future-you) encourages honest edits.
• Emotional clarity. You catch the moments you felt energised or drained and tie them to choices, not just vibes.
• Rapid learning. A 10-minute recount delivers more insight than an hour of vague guilt.

How to run your weekly performance (15 minutes)

1) Cast your audience (30 seconds)

Choose who you’re performing for:

• Future you (kind but firm)
• A respected mentor (imagined, if you like)
• A friend or partner (real, if they’re willing to listen)
• Your values (health, craft, family, impact)

Pick one and keep it consistent for a month.

2) Gather the “raw footage” (2 minutes)

Skim for facts, not perfection:

• Calendar and to-do list
• Messages and email highlights
• Screen time, steps, or sleep (if you track them)
• Bank or expense app for time/money leaks

3) Title your week (30 seconds)

Make it memorable. Examples: “Meetings Ate My Homework”, “Two Deep Wins, One Rabbit Hole”, “Ship, Sleep, Repeat”.

4) Perform the scenes (6 minutes)

Stand up and speak out loud. Record a voice memo if it helps.

• Opening image: How did Monday start? (energy, plan, intention)
• Inciting incident: What pulled you off plan?
• The big win: What moved the needle?
• The time sink: Where did hours vanish?
• The hidden tax: Context switching, late nights, rework
• Surprise: Something easier/harder than expected
• Cliffhanger: What’s still hanging and why?

5) Director’s notes (4 minutes)

• Keep (3): Behaviours that worked — schedule them again.
• Cut (3): Meetings, apps, habits to remove or reduce.
• Change (1 experiment): A small tweak to test next week.

6) Lock in the edits (2 minutes)

• Timebox the “keeps” in your calendar now.
• Automate the “cuts”: unsubscribe, mute channels, decline recurring meetings.
• Schedule the experiment with a start and stop date.
• Add safety rails: If-then rules (e.g., “If a meeting has no agenda by 4 pm the day before, then I ask to reschedule”).

Your 10-minute voice memo script

Talk it through verbatim if you like:

“Title: [Week Name]. Audience: [Who]. Monday opened with [energy/plan]. The inciting incident was [thing]. My big win was [result]. Time sink: [thing] cost me [time/impact]. Hidden tax: [switching/rework] made me feel [feeling]. Surprise: [thing]. Cliffhanger: [unfinished item] because [reason]. Director’s notes — Keep: [1,2,3]. Cut: [1,2,3]. Experiment: [one change]. Edits scheduled: [when/where].”

Real-world examples

Sophie, project manager (Brisbane)
Her performance revealed seven “quick syncs” swallowed six hours with duplicate decisions. Edit: one weekly “office hours” block. Result: fewer pings, consolidated decisions, two hours reclaimed.

Jon, software engineer (Sydney)
His inciting incident was Slack. He set a new scene: two 90-minute deep-work blocks before opening chat, and a 10-minute Slack window at 11:30 am. Result: shipped a key module by Wednesday, six fewer context switches per day.

Priya, registrar (Perth)
Hidden tax was documentation overflow at night. Edit: templates and a 20-minute end-of-day wrap. Result: earlier finishes, clearer handovers.

Common pitfalls and fixes

• “I feel silly performing.” Do an audio-only memo while walking. It still counts.
• “I don’t have time.” Run the 8-minute version: Title (30s), Scenes (5m), Notes (2.5m).
• “My data’s messy.” Use estimates. The point is learning, not perfect logs.
• “I’m too hard on myself.” Keep the tone like a good director: honest, never cruel.

Make it stick: your weekly playbill

Capture it on one page you can glance at on Monday morning.

• Title: [Name your week]
• Cast: You, your key stakeholders, your usual distractions
• Scenes: 3–5 moments that mattered
• Critics’ quotes: One sentence each from Energy, Focus, and Future You
• Edits: 3 Keep, 3 Cut, 1 Experiment
• Trailer for next week: The one outcome that earns a standing ovation

Where tools can help (lightly)

You can do Retrospective Theatre with paper and a timer. If you prefer a simple place to set weekly outcomes and track progress, Meloplan is a clean, no-fuss option. You can outline your three key outcomes, break them into tasks, and jot your “director’s notes” during your Friday review so next week’s edits are ready to go.

If you’re curious, try Meloplan here: https://app.meloplan.com/register.

This week’s challenge

Pick a 15-minute slot on Friday. Give your week a title. Perform the scenes. Make three edits. Schedule them. When Monday rolls around, you won’t just be busy — you’ll be in charge of the story.