The person who knows your real week can offer a better invitation than the person imagining your free time.

Invitations reveal how well somebody has been listening. A person who knows about the early shift, the school run and the tiredness on Thursdays will suggest something you can actually accept. A person imagining an open calendar keeps proposing the impossible and slowly concludes you are not interested. Fit matters as much as enthusiasm.

Tell people what your week really looks like rather than apologizing after each refusal. When you invite someone, ask which part of the day is genuinely easiest for them.