If you’re a busy professional leading a successful business or team, you probably get a lot of offers and invitations. The more successful we become, the more people tend to notice. This leads to increased bids for our time. Vendors, partners and peers become increasingly eager to get on our calendars and try to sell us things we don’t want or need.

Oftentimes, this interferes with our already perfectly laid plans and goals. If you’re in this situation, here are five things you can say (and do) when you’re being heckled — without the guilt or stress.

1. This doesn’t align with my goals or values

The people who proposition us are often more interested in their own goals than ours. Each week, I receive countless messages promising to help me find qualified leads, start a podcast or grow my business in a variety of ways. The problem is, I don’t currently have expansion goals — or goals to do any of those things.

Before you say yes to anyone or anything, ask yourself: “Does this align with my current goals or values?” If the answer is no, then you already know what you need to do, and there’s no harm in saying that the opportunity simply isn’t congruent with the pursuits that you’ve already committed to.

2. I have more important priorities

Perhaps the invitation you’re receiving does align with your goals, but it doesn’t align with the ways you prefer to achieve those goals. Maybe the proposed activity or offer could help you achieve your goals, but at the expense of other activities you believe could help more. That’s a great reason to say, “not at this time, but maybe later.”

Managing our time is one of the most important things we do. Setting boundaries around what we can reasonably put on our plate at once is a huge part of managing our time effectively. If you try to chase two rabbits, both will escape. If everything’s important, then nothing’s important. You are in charge of deciding what’s most important to you.

Perhaps attending a conference on how AI can help scale your business is of interest to you, but February isn’t the right time. If that’s the case, it’s not necessarily a no; it’s just not now. In the winter, you can politely ask people to come back and ask again in the spring or summer. Or, let them know you’ll make a note of the opportunity and reach back out when it works with all the other competing priorities that are already on your calendar and must come first.

3. Truly wish them the best with everything they’re doing

The invites or offers that aren’t suitable for me usually sound like fantastic opportunities for others. Every time I politely turn someone down, I make sure to wish them all the best as they look to assist other people. I always tell people, “I hope it works out,” when I’m not able to serve them. That’s because it’s true.

Usually, I’m not saying no because I dislike the person or want nothing to do with them. It’s that I’ve already stacked my calendar with things that matter more. It feels good to leave the door open and wish people success with their goals to help others in the ways they were trying to help me (or get from others whatever they were trying to get from me). It feels good to separate the care and respect I have for them from the care and respect I have for the idea they were trying to sell me on.

4. If you’ve got the time and interest, give quick advice

Recently, I was propositioned by someone who clearly had no idea what I do and hadn’t bothered to take the time to learn. When she asked me why I wasn’t interested, I decided to give her the benefit of the truth: I’d found it off-putting that she had the nerve to try to sell me on something before making any attempt to understand me or my goals. I quickly explained why her message had felt assumptive and demanding, with the hope that this honest feedback might help her become a stronger advisor in the future. Of course, if you don’t have the time (or the interest), skip this step and move on to step No. 5.

5. Feel zero guilt

It’s amazing how many unwanted calendar intruders say things that lead us into feeling guilty for not giving them what they wanted. Remember: You don’t owe an explanation to random strangers you’ve never met or distant acquaintances you hardly know. Business contacts who you’ve only met once or twice aren’t the same as your children or members of your closest inner circle. Saying no to these people isn’t the same as repeatedly blowing off your direct reports or family.

For years, because I was a people-pleasing perfectionist, I tried to meet with nearly everyone who invited me. I’d feel guilty for telling people I had no interest or no time. Then it hit me. Every time we say yes to one thing, we automatically say no to an unlimited number of other things. Why was I saying yes to whoever was yammering the loudest? When we decide not to feel any guilt for letting an acquaintance down, an amazing thing happens: It becomes far easier to do it. Be sure you remember that saying no to people doesn’t make you an unkind, uncompassionate person who doesn’t care about others. It makes you an intentional, deliberate person who cares about your own dreams.

The amount of DMs, newsletters, email blasts and other outreach can feel overwhelming. But saying no is made easier when you do it in these ways (and do it with no guilt or shame). Considering these things often helps you decide what invitations you should decline in the first place. If you realize that an offer doesn’t align with your goals, your priorities and the only reason you’d be saying yes is that you feel obligated, then you’re well-positioned to have a great conversation about it.

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