What to do when there's
nothing you can do 🥲

You have a great retainer.

You don’t want to lose it.

But the account has been… challenging.

Not because there’s too much to do.

The opposite, actually.

I’ve been working with this client for—pause while I realize the one-year mark was last month and I completely missed it. 🫠

And for basically the entire time, I’ve been desperately trying to crack the code of working together.

One of the hardest parts about being a freelancer?

You’re always on the outside looking in.

You rarely get the full picture.

You don’t see what’s happening behind the scenes.

And that’s especially tricky when your main contact is already overworked, behind on everything, and slowly disappearing.

Slow responses.

Declined meetings.

Minimal direction.

...but also a very high standard for deliverables. 🙃

The last few months, I’ve felt pretty shit about it.

Like I’m constantly waiting for a meeting request and the awkward, "we're going in another direction" conversation.

I could just ride it out and keep cashing in.
I could assume it’s "out of my hands" and slowly disconnect.
I could say “that’s the client’s problem.”

But I don’t think that’s what makes you a great freelancer.

I think what separates good from great is what you do when things get weird.

So this week, I took to ChatGPT (seriously this shit is addictive as hell)

I asked how to handle it. How to stay proactive.

And the suggestions were fire.

My new bestie Chat helped me see my client's decision fatigue that was slowing down approvals, so now I’m adjusting how we run our bi-weekly sprints to reduce it.

I’m focusing on lightening her mental load—not just doing the work.

I’m also improving the quality of my reports to give clearer, more high-value insights.

But more than anything,

I’m showing up.

I’m proving that I care.

And in this market? That’s rare.

So play into it.

Your clients may not always see everything you’re doing behind the scenes.

But the ones that do?

They stay.
They refer.
They trust you with more.

So if a client is pulling away...

Don’t panic.
Don’t ghost them back.

Get curious.

Ask how you can make it easier to move forward.

Then show them what that looks like.

​

RBH

Robyn Henke

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P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are *2 ways I can help* you get organized and reclaim your time:

1. “Time Is Money” — A mini-course that teaches freelancers how to track time in ClickUp strategically, so you can price with confidence, spot scope creep, and start earning more without working more. Grab it here → ​

2. ClickUp Power Hour — Book a 1:1 session where we’ll work through your biggest ClickUp bottleneck together. Walk away with a setup that fits how you actually work. Book a Power Hour →​