Hi everyone,

This edition of the MGPR Newsletter is in celebration of my second business anniversary!

It's crazy to think that it's already been two years, and that it's only been two years. I've experimented, learned, succeeded and failed so much, and I'm excited for everything in the years to come.

The most exciting part of making it to two years in business is that I finally, officially unveiled my new brand and website.

Of course, in true business owner fashion, I still have so many places to implement my new brand and big plans. But I'm glad to meaningfully mark this milestone by accomplishing one of my main goals for 2026.

Thanks again to you all for being part of my journey. Is there anything that you're proud of recently? I'd love to hear it and celebrate with you! I encourage you to reach out.

Best,

Founder & CEO
Megan Gasper PR, LLC

How PR Pros Can Really Achieve Work-Life Balance

Alright. You're going to get a kick out of this one. I'm writing this at midnight, after a full workday, driving halfway to Madison and back to drop the pets off with my parents, packing and doing a little more work. Not exactly the picture of work-life balance, but stay with me for a second.

I believe PR professionals can achieve work-life balance, and that the always-on mentality doesn't make anyone a better PR pro or a company's PR program better. Truly.

In PR, there are all these expectations and people you serve, from your team members, your boss, your clients and the media members you work with.

The newscycle is quite literally 24/7. Someone always wants something from you, and it's literally your job to make it happen.

There was a time in my career when I worked all the time. I answered emails like text messages, took calls while I was out with friends and juggled everything that was somehow all urgent at the same time. It worked, and I even enjoyed it... for a while.

The reality is, most of us don't need to be always-on to be incredibly talented, successful, outcome-driven PR pros. Thank goodness.

What we really need to be successful are boundaries.

It's really hard. Like really, really hard. No one else will set and enforce your boundaries for you. At best, they will encourage, accommodate and respect your boundaries, and at worst, they will reject or ignore them.

So how can you set boundaries? Here are some ideas!

1. Think about what work-life balance means to you. Ask yourself, in an ideal world, how would your work and life integrate?
   ​
2. Get clear on what's in your control and what's out of your control, such as company policies, your team's work styles, your personal schedule and what your biggest priorities are.
   ​
3. Determine standard working hours and communicate them regularly. Keep your work calendar updated with your accurate working hours, block your calendar in a way that makes sense to you and politely remind people about your hours when appropriate.
   ​
4. Do not respond to emails, Slacks, calls or texts outside of your working hours, and especially not when you are on vacation. Even when you feel compelled to, don't. Every time you break, you're training others that they don't need to respect your boundaries, because you don't hold yourself to them. You're also training yourself to never completely step away from work.
   ​
5. In return, respect other people's working hours. Don't bother them late at night or while they are on vacation. Be mindful of their timezone and communication preferences.
   ​
6. Recognize that being rigid isn't realistic. There are always exceptions to the rule, crises are inevitable and sometimes things just don't work out as you plan. The best boundaries have some flexibility for very clear and specific people or situations. Define what is considered an emergency or who is the exception, and why.
   ​
7. Figure out an escalation plan for when you are away, so you don't feel chained to your phone, but you also feel confident that everything is being managed, or that you can be reached in the event of a true emergency.
   ​
8. Actually take your PTO, use your sick days, flex time and all other benefits offered to you. You are a person first and a professional second, and you have to take care of yourself to properly serve others and be the best version of yourself on the job.

The most important thing is to start and practice. Over time, you'll learn what can wait and what can't, and you'll feel more comfortable advocating for yourself.

So, I may be writing waaaaay past my bedtime, against my typical boundaries. But I also set a goal for myself to send a monthly newsletter, and by gosh, I'm going to hold myself accountable.

To make up for it, I'll soon be traveling with friends and will have an out-of-office message at the ready.

Will I completely unplug from work during my upcoming time off?

Probably not, because I'm a solo business owner and I don't have the infrastructure in place to do that quite yet.

But will I do anything more than what is necessary? No, because that's what work-life balance looks like for me in this season.

What does work-life balance look like for you right now? I'd love to learn about what you think works and what doesn't.

Megan's Corner

Quick personal updates on the things I love most: animals, reading, travel, sports and more.

Fosters & Pets

We just dropped off our most recent crew of fosters: Franklin, Linus and Marcie. They were adorable, chaotic purr monsters who loved climbing on shoulders, biting ankles and doing typical kitten things. We loved every minute of our time with them. These three will be hitting The Catcade lounge soon with new, Midwest-themed names.

Travel

I went to Door County, Wisconsin, for the first time in nearly a decade for a bachelorette party. We had so much fun!

Books

2026 Goal Progress: 16 / 60 books

I've only finished two books this month... so far. I may have another one or two done before the end of the weekend. I particularly loved my book club's pick this month. It was captivating, heart-wrenching and insightful. Have you read it?

Book Club

Debut Thriller

More

I also made my first-ever loaf of sourdough bread, after several false starts and FaceTime calls to my mom and sister. I'm proud of how it turned out!

Thanks for reading! 🩵

Love this email or have suggestions and questions? Reply and let me know. I'll personally respond.

Let's connect ⬇️

​​​