A couple wait to discuss any issues at their weekly 'admin meeting' that they also use to keep on top of their busy family life - and say it has strengthened their marriage.
Rachael Shepard-Ohta, 34, and her husband, Marley, 37, began scheduling the sit-downs after her therapist suggested it may help - and set an agenda each week together.
The pair keep a note of anything they want to mention throughout the week before bringing it up to each other on a Thursday morning – a time when their three kids, aged five, three, and three months, are at school or sleeping.
The married couple kick the meeting off by expressing their gratitude to each other before planning the tasks that need to be done that week, including booking appointments and checking for any birthday parties coming up.
Rachael, a sleep consultant, says the meetings have made Marley "appreciate" her more as she had been "struggling with the mental load" she was taking on.
Rachael, from San Francisco, California, US, said: "We treat it like an appointment at the same time each week.
"We sit down with our computers.
"Over the week we keep track of what we want to talk about in a notes app in our phones.
"We start with gratitude and appreciation.
"So we'll say what things we liked the other did that week and have a moment to connect.
"Then we look at what needs to be planned.
"We look at booking appointments and checking for any birthday parties coming up.
"Then we decide who does what based on who it makes the most sense to do it."
She added: "At the end, we do any tasks or errands that need to be done right away and assign the others by each making a note in our phone.
"We choose who books the appointments or do it together if it's urgent."
Rachael and Marley started giving the meetings a try four months ago when Rachael's therapist suggested it may help.
She was talking to her about how she feels that she takes on a lot of the 'mental load'.
"I feel it has definitely strengthened our relationship," she said.
"It's made my husband appreciate me more.
"It makes both of us feel more organised.
"By doing this we don't spend the week checking in on each other about a million things."
They try to limit their meetings to 20 minutes but will sometimes spend up to an hour talking things through.
Rachael said: "If we need to make travel plans or something like that it will often take longer.
"We always start off with what we appreciate as it starts the meeting off with a nice tone rather than it being just business.
“It gives us time to connect."
Rachael says she would encourage other couples to give a weekly meeting a go.
"Everyone can put their own spin on it," she said. "You could do it on a date for example.
"I feel so much more appreciated and supported.
"It's taken some stress of the day-to-day. We feel like more of a team."
Marley added: "It gives us structure for sometimes annoying or uncomfortable conversations so they don't leak into our entire week.
"It's made me less stressed knowing I have a designated time to get things done for our family.
"It's nice to have a time to reflect and plan together and I didn't realise before how much my wife was managing."
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