How To Deal With Clients Not Respecting Your Time: Actionable Tips

Who hasn’t dealt with a tricky client? You know the one; they don’t value your time, send emails at all hours, and seemingly endorse the concept of scope creep. Perhaps you’ve been conditioned to think they’re a necessary evil, particularly if you’re a freelancer or a small business owner.

We don’t believe that needs to be the case. So, we’re here to empower you with tools and tips to help navigate this potential hellscape.

We will, among other things, highlight the following in the blog:

• The tell-tale traits of a client who doesn’t respect your time
• Outline how you can set time boundaries with new and existing clients
• Deduce if a particularly time-consuming client needs to be shown the door

Whether you’ve always had clients with poor time boundaries or noticed existing clients slipping into bad habits, we have some actionable tips.

Spotting clients that don’t respect your time

In short, they set impractical and unrealistic deadlines, change their demands on a whim, expect your availability on tap 24/7, or a winning combo of all of the aforementioned.

Either way, all-consuming clients who don’t respect your time often feel like a double-edged sword; you can’t live with them, and you can’t pay the bills without them.

If this doom loop sounds familiar, let’s address some personality types you’ve probably encountered across the client spectrum.

The 24/7 merchant

My personal breaking point came when a client (who, to clarify, worked the same time zone as me) WhatsApped at 10 pm... on a Saturday. To be fair, it had been months of early morning and post-9 pm correspondence from this person, so I should have expected it. While I couldn’t afford to lose her custom, some things – like my precious downtime – were more important, so I responded to her first thing on Monday.

The borderline narcissistic micromanager

Another client used to ritualistically set and then cancel Zoom meetings. The meetings he did turn up for would far surpass their allotted 30 minutes into 60-minute affairs whereby he’d pontificate about his cross-country running schedule or the state of the mid-western transport system. He seemed to view me as some sort of sounding board or quasi-therapist.

Once the parameters of that particular project were established, he would then change the content required and the scope. He’d rewrite the copy to such an extent I wondered what the point of our working relationship was. It got to the point where I would send him snippets of his previous emails contradicting himself. We parted ways soon after.

The chasm client

From the extreme micromanager to the other end of the spectrum – a black hole of information. These clients, sometimes referred to as “lazy clients”, are often:

A) Too busy
B) Don’t (want to) know the answers to your questions, and therefore ignore you
C) Frankly think their time is more important than yours

This leads to a chasm in communication, which is a drain on your time and resources.

My chasm client started off as forthcoming. However, once it was brought to his attention that this particular project needed to be more collaborative toward the latter stages, he became very evasive in his responses before dropping off a comms cliff. In fact, I’m still waiting to be paid for that project.

These are but three real-world examples of time-siphoning clients, and while there are many more, they’re all variations on a theme. So, with that in mind, let’s move this collective therapy session toward some positive action!

Defining time boundaries for yourself

I’ve said it before; boundaries need to start with you. People of a certain vintage might recall The Staples’ wise words: "If you don't respect yourself, Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na, na, na, woah-ho-woah."

With that earworm firmly embedded, here are three tips for defining time boundaries for yourself.

1. Decide when you want to work

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Does working some hours at the weekend suit your day-to-day responsibilities (be they personal goals, looking after family, etc) more than working midweek?

These are just two questions to get the cogs going in terms of when YOU want to work and your most productive hours – if you have the freedom to do that. You also need to define the small matter of how much your time is worth…

2. Know your limits and be consistent

This will require a bit of introspection and honesty around what’s possible and what’s not. Once you define the times that suit you, set them in stone. Sure, there can be room to maneuver, but – where possible – stick to those working hours.

3. Respect your time – track it

There are a huge number of tracking methods available. You could keep it old skool and log with ye olde time tracking sheet, or you could engage with a project management tool – such as Asana.

We might be biased (and one could argue we most definitely are) but a time tracking app (like Memtime) can really help here as it beavers away in the background while you work, ensuring every minute is accounted for. Compared to techniques based on gut, guesstimation and ballpark numbers, Memtime gives you solid arguments in the form of every minute of your time being recorded.

Once your tricky client sees just how much time you’re spending on a certain project or task, then it’s very hard for them to argue with hard numbers.

Setting time boundaries with new and existing clients

Setting boundaries from the offset is preferable, and seasoned entrepreneurs back up this approach. For example, John Hughes, CEO of ContractorNerd, stresses the importance of clear communication when managing client expectations from the get go.

"One of the key lessons we’ve learned at ContractorNerd is that respecting time goes both ways. Establishing clear boundaries early on not only sets expectations but also builds mutual respect. When clients understand the value of your time, they’re more likely to adhere to agreed timelines and appreciate the work you do. It's all about creating a professional, balanced relationship," explains Hughes.

Sometimes it happens that the relationship with a certain client commenced one way and then descended down an ill-defined path. So, here are some pointers to employ when setting time boundaries with clients old and new.

1. Communicate your set working hours

Whether you’ve been working with a client for years, weeks, or days, there is a lot to be said for an email establishing your current availability. After all, circumstances change all the time and schedules should follow.

It could either be a simple contract or via email. Remember, when working remotely, always include your time zone to mitigate any potential confusion.

Have an existing client that has started to become increasingly demanding? Then, transparency and open communication is key for the future of your working relationship. Armed with your time tracking data, you need to bite the bullet and schedule a meeting.

2. Set an Out Of Office

Undoubtedly, the constant bouncebacks drive clients mad, but it works in terms of mitigating unnecessary correspondence. If you have regular days you won’t be at your computer, or you’re up to your eyeballs in backlog, there is an out-of-office for that. Behold three of my regular OOO messages:

3. Amend your email signature to reinforce your working hours

If you decide not to use your OOO, consider reiterating boundaries around working hours in your signature. For instance:

4. Utilize your calendar to your advantage

You know we love a good calendar. Another reason calendar management rocks is to give a tricky client that sense of control they need (for some reason) while also setting a time limit. Meeting creep is real.

If, let’s say, a client is demanding “a quick call” for whatever reason, you can respond with:

If the call regularly spills beyond that 30 minutes, then you may need to take further action…

Dealing with a client that doesn’t respect your time

Bearing in mind that every working relationship is unique, here’s how I personally tackled one of my tricky cohorts:

The 24/7 client: If you get any correspondence outside of your established working hours (particularly one that pings on your phone, like WhatsApp), do not engage. If you do, you’re inviting a conversation. You’re inferring that they can contact you at any time and they’ll receive a response. The only way a client will realize that it’s inappropriate to communicate at that time is by responding to them during your assigned hours.

As previously mentioned, I responded to this particular client first thing on Monday morning. That email looked a little something like this:

This way, you have re-established boundaries while keeping the door ajar for a productive conversation. If you receive an unfavorable response, perhaps consider parting ways with that client.

If you need to keep them on until you find another client, you could (in the interim) suggest re-evaluating your rate-of-pay – be it an increase or a switch from a flat-rate retainer to an hourly rate.

Should you fire a client that doesn’t respect your time?

Only you can determine that answer. That said, here are some additional questions to help get you there. For instance, is your client…

• Disrespecting your time boundaries after you’ve addressed the issue?
• Quibbling about pay, forgets to pay, or is not open to renegotiating pay while still demanding most of your time?
• Paying you the same or less than other clients yet siphoning more time?
• Aligned with your mission and/or long-term goals? Sometimes, you’re not a good fit, or you outgrow each other.

The answers to the above should cast a light on whether you should start considering an appropriate exit plan from this particular work relationship.

When navigating this situation, Memtime can be very helpful. You can track each minute you spend on servicing a demanding client, and then realistically display your workload, such as all the time it takes! That data can be a real eye-opener to you and the client alike.

Wrapping up

So, what have we learned? We’ve discovered that there’s always a productive conversation to be had about time boundaries. If you feel that a project’s scope has expanded with a client to the point where it’s consuming more time than it’s worth, it doesn’t have to be a confrontational situation. You can simply consider the following steps:

1. Ask yourself "Am I happier with or without them?"

This sage sentence isn't just for a spot of introspection in terms of romantic relationships, it also applies to work scenarios. OK, so a breakup might be a bit awkward in the short term; you might know the same people, and hang out in the same circles (plus the regular income is nice). That said, if they feel they can monopolize your time AND suck the life out of you, then cutting ties might be for the best.

2. Use a variation of "It's not you, it's me."

A tricky client may seem omnipotent but they don't know every aspect of your client list or personal life. Therefore, there's always an opportunity to say something along the lines of:

"Listen, my circumstances have changed. As a result, the following aspects of our working relationship need to change. If this is an issue, I'm sure we can devise a mutually beneficial outcome."

3. Get your ducks in a row. And by "ducks" I mean data.

Again, you can't argue with numbers, so – should you get to the stage of hashing out a new working dynamic with an existing client – you can clearly show them how much of your time they use. Oftentimes, a client will have no idea (unwittingly or otherwise) just how much time they're siphoning. An app like Memtime can help with the transparency and communication aspects here.

4. Prioritize preemptive planning.

Always have an actionable exit plan for each client. Life is too short to invest in relationships that are largely unfulfilling (at best) or entirely depleting (at worst).