Missing out on purpose is a skill. Not every invite is a door; some are distractions in a nice outfit.

Every invitation arrives looking like an opportunity, because that is how invitations are dressed. Some genuinely are: people you want to know, a room where you would learn something. Plenty of others are just a way for a Friday to vanish, and you can usually tell in advance if you actually stop and ask.

Before saying yes, picture the middle of it rather than the idea of it. Who is there, what are you doing at hour two, how do you feel on the way home. Skipping well is a skill like any other, and it is what makes the yes mean something.