The person who has had a hard day may need a meal more than a plan for improvement.

Solutions offered too early can land as criticism. When somebody comes home wrung out, the instinct to fix the underlying problem is affectionate and badly timed, because a person at the end of their capacity cannot receive advice, only care. Food, warmth, quiet and a low bar for conversation restore the state in which thinking is possible; the plan can happen tomorrow, when there is someone there to make it.

When the next person arrives depleted, feed them and ask nothing. Save your good idea until they bring the subject up themselves.