New home sales consultant and former South Melbourne Hellas coach Peter Panagiotidis describes his life during COVID-19.

What are you reading?
A lot of property and construction books, e-books for my job, sports related material, and technology books like virtual reality.

What are you watching?
Classic soccer matches and movies.

What music are you listening to?
Greek music of course, and 80s classics.

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What are you cooking?
I am not much of a cook but I’ll make a pasta dish or a nice Greek salad when I find myself in the kitchen.

How are you staying fit, both physically and mentally?
I am trying to stay physically active with walking and biking, and also some body weight activities.
Mentally, I am trying to avoid the news that is constantly focusing on the uncertainty and negativity associated with COVID-19, and focus on things that are in my control.

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What’s the one thing keeping you sane?
Reading different things and educating myself everyday. Additionally, I have been playing a lot of online chess which is keeping my mind sharp.

Are you working from home?
No, I am not currently working, I was stood down two months ago.

What’s something positive you’ve witnessed or experienced since the coronavirus hit?
People have united with each other during this crisis in different ways than normal, there have been various acts of kindness throughout communities, and people seem to be appreciating the simple things like family time.

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What have you learned about yourself amid the crisis?
As a person I have always been very positive and optimistic, but I realised how lucky I am to live in Australia during these hard times. I have to say that Australia is managing this situation quite well in my opinion. From a health point of view we are very low in numbers now, which makes me grateful to live here. I think this crisis has highlighted that we should be grateful for what we have big or small, because tomorrow is not promised.

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What’s your advice for others to cope with the crisis?
I am wondering why we are struggling so much mentally during this crisis? I think keeping TV time to a minimum is a step in the right direction, and spending time with your loved ones doing things that make you smile and laugh is a must.
Hopefully, we will return to a new normal very soon, with people remembering to be more grateful and present with those around them.