You both want to meet. Then someone works late, the weekend fills up, and another month goes by. Before assuming the friendship is fading, look at the kind of plan you keep trying to make.
Make the plan smaller
Ask what makes meeting difficult: time, travel, cost, or having energy left to socialise. A shorter dinner will not help if getting there is the problem. Lunch near work or a call from home may be more realistic.
If choosing a date is the obstacle, try a regular slot you both want. If shifts change, choose the next meeting when your schedules are available instead. Either plan can be adjusted; agreeing to it should not mean committing forever.
Let ordinary time count
You do not have to make an occasion of every meeting. Invite a friend along to something you both enjoy, such as a regular walk or an evening cooking. Check that it feels like time together, rather than another obligation.
Research on daily conversation found benefits for that evening’s wellbeing from activities including catching up and joking. Every conversation need not be a serious life update or another attempt to organise your calendars.
Say what you are missing
If quick messages are no longer enough, say so kindly. “I miss actually spending time with you” is clearer than hoping they will notice you have stopped suggesting plans.
There may be a period when they cannot offer much time. You can understand that and still spend time with other friends. If you are always doing the organising and it is wearing you down, that is a separate conversation about sharing the effort.
