Productivity Through a Liberation Lens: The Multicultural Journey of Recovering Procrastinator Pam Covarrubias
"I just need a place to belong."
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What listeners of La Vida Más Chévere (the podcast) might not know is that each of these interviews are recorded like a Zoom meeting, so we can see each other. On this terribly cold* February day, childfree Latina, business coach, podcast host, and all-around badass Pam Covarrubias is sitting on my screen sipping what I assume is coffee out of her big yellow mug. Her show is called Cafe Con Pam, after all.
My mug has a tea latte in it. If you caught the last episode before this one, you know the tea latte is part of my daily self-care routine. But it turns out Pam isn’t drinking any regular old coffee. Oh no no no! She’s got something special brewed in her cup.
What follows is Part 1 of the condensed version of our conversation, fully translated for anyone who had trouble following along with the podcast episode. If you’d like to read the transcript instead, head over to the show notes for Episode 2: The Dangers of Calladita Se Ve Más Bonita with Pam Covarrubias.
Paulette: So Pam, who are you in a nutshell?
Pam: I don't know if I can do the snippet version of it! I'm a coach. I became the business coach my mom needed, and this was after a long exploration of who I am and lots of digging into identity and identifiers, quoting my friend Babelito (aka Emmanuel Ortega PhD, Art History, University of New Mexico) from Latinos Who Lunch, and I realized that I love productivity and I love business, and so I have deconstructed a lot of old business practices.
And the way that I teach and guide other business owners is through doing business from a liberation lens. And of course, instilling productivity and rest.
Paulette: Rest is a topic that I have a very deep relationship with because for so many years I didn't [get enough rest]. And then my body let me know in my late thirties, “well, now you're going to!” And my whole world shifted upside down, so I'm a huge proponent of rest. But when most people talk about productivity, it's about the absence of rest. But not you. You say you're a recovering procrastinator.
Pam: Yeah, I realized it was a procrastinator when I was in college. I went to art school, [where] you get critiqued in front of your whole class. Literally you set up your project in the class and everyone walks around and critiques you, including the teacher. And one of my favorite projects was a clothing brand that we created.
[The teacher] came up to me and she said, “Pam, what happens here is that I gave you a long time to complete this project, and I know you were here last night. You pulled an all nighter. Some of these bags that you created are falling apart. This is a project that would've been worth submitting for design awards. But because you didn't put the time, it's not. I can't do this for you.”
And I was like 19 years old, and that really put me into this spiral of like, my brain is broken because I knew I had all this time. And I was like, la mujer del mañana. Mañana lo algo, mañana (translation: I kept putting everything off until tomorrow).
And I realized that I had ADHD, and so this was the other thing of why do I procrastinate? I learned that procrastination is rooted a lot in freeze mode. Part of procrastination is a trauma response, and this is where a lot of the experts in productivity that are like, no, it's all mindset!
And I'm like, oh, actually, actually not.
That's when I learned about tapping, which is the tool that I use to support my clients and myself and my nervous system. And from that moment, I really started diving into this productivity thing and what's going on with the brain and why do we put things off and why do we care about other things and why do we overwork?
And here we are.
Part of procrastination is a trauma response, and this is where a lot of the experts in productivity that are like, no, it's all mindset!
And I'm like, oh, actually not.
Pam was born in the US but raised in both Mexico City and in California. Currently she’s based in San Diego, but took a detour through college in the Midwest.
Paulette: So going to school in the US and Mexico, and then in the US again. How do you think that's shaped you?
Pam: My journey of being a first generation immigrant because I'm both, has also influenced a lot of my work. Because when I was growing up in Mexico City, I was Pam, I was Pam Covarrubias, ¿y ya no? (translation: and that’s it!). And then I came to the US and all of a sudden I had to fit myself into specific boxes, whether I had to check off the Hispanic box or the US citizen box or the whatever.
And that was really confusing to me because all of a sudden I transitioned from being a human being to being a census data checker.** And so that has really influenced the way that I work. I think because of that experience, I'm able to also kind of bounce between worlds and understand people in different ways: whether you're an immigrant that came to the US, or you were born here, or you’re the third generation. Me having bounced between countries so much has allowed me to be like, “I get it. It's hard.”
“These damn people need to go back to their country and learn English.”
Talking more about college, Pam dives deep into what finding power in her voice, and standing in that power, means to her.
Paulette: What was going to college in Missouri like?
Pam: It was interesting. It was a moment that really shaped who I am. And going to college in the Midwest, middle America, I got a taste of what America is like. Very different from California. In California we talk about white people. There's white people in the Midwest.
And it was a time in my life when I had to truly stand in my power and it took a long time. And I owe it to black women because when I was in college, I either had the option to hang out with white people or black people. That was it! And so one of my biggest mentors, Tay Triggs, took me under her wing.
I went to the Center for Multicultural Education when I found out that that existed. And I walked in and she gave me the best hug and was like, “oh my gosh, you remind me of some kids I mentor!”
And I was like, “I just need a place to belong!” And, and she was like, “well, here's your home.”
And she hired me [as] her intern. I was a student worker at the Center for Multicultural Education for years there on top of my full-time job—because I worked full-time while I went to school full-time—and it was amazing.
I met the most incredible people. I got to plan campus-wide events. I brought speakers, all focused on multicultural work, and it really rooted me in my social justice work. So it was super fun.
Of course, I [also] had…these aren't the best moments, but I got yelled at at Walmart one time talking to my tía (translation: aunt) in Spanish. The comments were right behind us:
“Oh, these damn people need to go back to their country and learn English.”
And so those moments are what really pushed me to stand in my power and to really use my voice. Because when that woman said that comment, I could have just ignored it.
But I turned around and I said, “we actually do speak English, but we choose not to. So mind your business. This is my conversation.”
And I think it was necessary. It was important and a lot of lessons came from that time.
In Finland, fun fact, coffee was banned for a long time.
Pam's podcast Cafe con Pam is a play on the phrase "cafe con pan,” which means coffee with bread. Coffee with something bready is a popular pairing, not just in Mexican culture, because who doesn't love a pastry with a warm mug of coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate)? That's comfort food at its best!
Paulette: Your podcast, it’s called Cafe con Pam so you talk a lot about coffee. What's your favorite type of way to have coffee?
Pam: Oh, tricky question! It’s like asking a mom who's your favorite kid? When I go to coffee shops, local coffee shops—in order for me to go to a chain, I have to be in the middle of nowhere when there's no other options.
And so when I go to local coffee shops, I tend to order pour overs. Whether it's a Chemex or any other pour over form of brewing, that's my way to enjoy their coffee because it's one of—some people might argue—but it's one of the purest ways of enjoying all the notes of the coffee. This is my snobbiness coming out when it comes to coffee.
At home, I am very simple. Sometimes I do pour overs. Sometimes I use the greca (translation: a moka pot) which is the traditional silver thing. Everyone in Latin America uses it. Most days it’s a drip coffee, but I do drink mushroom coffee, which has adaptogenics for my brain. And different mushrooms to support the focus and clarity on my brain.
Paulette: Where do you get that?
Pam: Four Sigmatic is one that has mushroom coffee. The owner's from Finland. And the thing is that in Finland, fun fact, coffee was banned for a long time.
So Finnish people started drinking chaga, which is a mushroom. It's kind of like the mother mushroom for the immune system. And chaga as a mushroom tea, it looks like coffee. It doesn't taste like coffee, but it looks like coffee. And so when Finnish people couldn't drink coffee, they would start drinking chaga, and became avid mushroom drinkers.
So now Four Sigmatic infuses different types of adaptogenics and different mushrooms into their coffee. Lion's Mane is the one that I use for my brain. Another brand that I buy from is Wonderground Coffee. It’s a local coffee shop in Seattle and they're awesome. They grow their own mushrooms and they have great coffee!
To read the rest of the conversation, check out these posts:
* Cold for Southern California, don’t come for me you non-Californians
**Former guest Ana del Castillo spoke about fitting “into a box” on her episode. Check out Choosing Yourself is Sanity with Ana Del Castillo