I think it's a case of changing your own mindset. Because these dogs are little, people (including me) tend to treat them as little babies instead of canines. They are taught boundaries when they request your time and you decline it by averting your eyes following a NO or a command which means you're not interested.
For example, Teddy always wants to be on my lap. I love it when I'm watching TV but I need to get research done, etc. I can't have him typing for me
So, when he asks to come up by putting his paws on the couch, I say to him, "Go lay down." He knows this means that he's not coming up and I'm not engaging with him. He then entertains himself with a toy or goes to his bed or whatever.
When he brings a toy to me, I ignore him. If I engage him every time he does this, of course he'll think that he can demand my time. Like you, I have a life of my own and I think its just changing your mindset to be okay with your little one entertaining themselves and living AMONGST you but not on top of you every minute.
Hope that helps? It was a hard lesson for me to learn but we're 15 months in now and my dog is spoiled and happy and independent which is great. He's just like mom..ha