When work or life, in general, have you bogged down, it can feel really difficult to find time to hang out with your friends. But that doesn’t mean you should let your friendships fall to the wayside. Even if you’re busy, there are ways to preserve your friendships so that you can enjoy them when you find time once more. Here are 5 ways to do just that.

Hang out in a group: Research finds that individuals are more likely to maintain friendships when their friends are friends with one another. Plus, the friend group is a great way to check-in with many friends in a consolidated time. 

Talk on the phone: Sure, a text does keep a friendship alive, but just barely. If you don’t have the time to show up face to face and see your friend, then call them during your downtime–during a commute, or while standing in line somewhere. You can also send them a voice message if your phone phobic but want to create more intimacy. 

Invite your friends to join your day-to-day tasks: Whether you’re hitting the gym before work or buying furniture for your new home, there are plenty of daily tasks you can do that are more enjoyable with a friend. If you ask around, you’ll surely find a friend who has to do the same tasks as you and would love to do them together.

Be upfront about your busyness: This one is important. Busy people lose friends because friends assume unavailability is rejection. It’s a fair assumption since some do use perpetual busyness as a passive way to end a relationship. To make sure your friend knows you still care, be sure to be honest with them about your life and reassure them that you value them.

Re-prioritize friendship: Work has deadlines and a boss to keep us in line, but friendships don’t, so it’s easy to let them fall to the wayside. Instead of drifting into fulfilling what’s expected of us, we need to make sure we prioritize what matters most.