Three families hold up their schedules to the scrutiny of a life coach, who advises them how to make more time to enjoy life. Kate Holmquist reports.

Michele O'Dwyer and Giles Warrington, parents of Amy (aged four) and Shona (two):

Running their lives like an Olympic relay race, Michele O'Dwyer and Giles Warrington are so well-organised that it was bound to be a challenge for life coach and parenting expert Penny Gundry to find more space in their schedule. Michele double-tasks, so when we initially added up her hours for various activities during the day, the total figure was 29. She hasn't got a doppelgänger (as many parents wish they had) but manages to accomplish the roles of two people at times during the day.

Michele is a lecturer in entrepreneurship at the University of Limerick as well as being a marketing and research consultant to enterprise boards. She is also finishing a PhD.

Giles is a lecturer at the School of Health and Human Performance at DCU, a sports and exercise physiologist with the Olympic Council of Ireland and a specialist in elite athletic performance. He is currently implementing an education programme for the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (Race).

The couple live in Birdhill, Co Tipperary, but work in different cities, with Giles staying in Dublin during the week. Once in a while, he has to travel as far afield as China.

They describe their tight logistics as a "house of cards" which could fall if one of them got sick. They keep a plan on the fridge and know exactly what they are doing several weeks in advance. Michele's schedule is particularly demanding, because she must drop Amy to playschool and Shona to the childminder in the mornings, then go to work. She uses her lunchbreak to collect Amy and bring her to the childminder, then collects both children from the childminder in the evenings - a process that involves three hours on the road, including the time spent liaising with her daughters' carers.

Giles and Michele would like more time together as a couple, as well as more individual time. Michele is concerned that her daily chores are getting in the way of playing with the children and she worries she's giving her children the message that life is hectic.

AFTER TALKING WITH life coach Penny Gundry, Michele and Giles have scheduled two Saturdays per month to go out as a couple and talk about things other than the children. As for individual time, Giles enjoys this at the end of the week by unwinding on the train journeys between Dublin and Co Tipperary. On Saturday afternoons, Giles takes the children out while Michele does household chores, but after talking with Gundry, Michele decided to do one less chore during this time and give herself an hour to read and relax.

Ideally, Gundry advised Michele, she needs to find a few minutes for a relaxing lunch each day, rather than eating it on the run. To counteract the toll that her schedule takes, Michele decided to look for a slot during the day when she could do a short meditation and relaxation exercise. She also plans to address her fear that she is overlooking her children in favour of chores, by asking a friend to check in with her every few days to see if she is playing with the children enough.

Giles has recently been using the internet to communicate with the children when he is absent during the week.

"This family are very creative and focused. They manage very well and understand that this is a short-term issue. They are already planning how they will spend more time together in the future," says Gundry.