I am both a photographer and a founder of four companies. Some people ask how I do both. The truth is, they fuel each other. Photography gives me creative energy. Business gives me structure. Without both, I would burn out.
Here is how a typical day looks — not the Instagram version, but the real one.
No alarm. My body wakes up naturally after years of this schedule. Coffee is first — Turkish coffee, always. The ritual matters as much as the caffeine.
This is my sacred time. No email, no messages, no meetings. I use these hours for whatever needs the most creativity: editing photos, writing blog posts like this one, designing features for ZSky AI, or planning shoots.
45 minutes. Weight training three days, cardio two days. Non-negotiable. Physical health is creative infrastructure. When my body feels strong, my mind is sharper.
I eat the same breakfast most days — eggs, avocado, sourdough. I scan industry news, check photography feeds, and respond to urgent messages.
Mornings are for operations across my four companies:
I spend 30-45 minutes on each company, addressing the highest-priority item. The key lesson from managing multiple companies: delegate everything except decisions that only you can make.
Afternoons are for shoots, client meetings, or personal creative projects. If I do not have a shoot scheduled, I spend this time on:
Non-Negotiable Rule: I do not check email after 6 PM. The world can wait until tomorrow. My evenings belong to family, gratitude practice, and recharging. The boundary is what makes the productivity possible.
If golden hour calls, I am shooting. Otherwise, evenings are for:
I am in bed by 10 PM. Seven to eight hours of sleep is non-negotiable. Sleep is where creativity processes what the waking hours collect.
The routine is not a cage — it is a scaffold. It holds the structure so creativity can climb. Without it, I would waste hours deciding what to do. With it, I know exactly where my energy goes.
But I also break it. Travel days, shoot days, inspiration days — the routine bends to life, not the other way around. As I discuss in my thoughts on work-life balance, rigidity is the enemy of both productivity and joy.
My reality as a multi-company founder
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I wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 AM. The quiet hours before the world starts are my most productive. I use them for deep work — editing, writing, and strategic thinking.
I time-block ruthlessly. Mornings for deep creative work, afternoons for business operations across ZSky AI, Biricik Media, Unpomela, and ICEe PC. Evenings for family and golden hour shoots.
My weekends are for personal projects, family time, and shoots that I choose, not that I am hired for. The distinction matters — obligation kills creativity.