How would you best describe yourself?

Career-focused and strong determination to be good at what I do. An empathic listener who hates to see anyone struggle.

How has becoming a parent changed your perception of work and career and what surprised you the most?

Priorities changed a lot as in it used to work, socialise with partner and friends. Now, the child is the priority, work was seen as “paying the bills” and starting a whole new social circle of friends, and losing a lot of friends.

What advice would you give your younger self about starting a family?

Go easy on yourself and don’t trust the books!! Every baby is different and not the standard textbook, so don’t be hard on yourself because you think “you can’t do it“. Ignore everyone’s judgment, it is a reflection on them, not you, and take time to look after yourself, a happy mother is a happy baby

What has been your biggest challenge in motherhood to date? How have you overcome this?

Burnout from trying to do it all – comparing myself to others and feeling like a complete and utter failure. To overcome this, I stopped comparing myself and focused on what I needed to do to stay sane and keep my daughter happy and healthy. I spent a lot of time reflecting at the end of the day – looking at what went well and what can be improved on. Changing how I do things helped e.g. instead of going to the gym, I found online workouts (this is pre-Covid when it wasn’t a thing) had also helped

What are your strategies to manage the juggle of career and family?

Writing down what I love doing and working out a way to do this with a small person in tow. Also utilising my household appliances to the max – using the timer on the washing machine and dryer, prepping the lunches the night before, and working my slow cooker to the max!

What do you do for self-care?

I always get up early before the rest of the house to do a workout – it’s my form of meditation

Connect with Clare on Instagram @clarehinchley

Click here to share your story as a working mum