🪴 Field Notes 003 – When Rest Is the Work

✍️ Writer’s Note

Hey friend. If you’re here for the soft stuff today, you’ve come to the right entry. This week, we’re not just talking soil, structure, and start-ups — we’re talking burnout. About what happens when the fire that got you started flickers. And what it means to build a dream slowly, sustainably, and still with your whole chest. This is Field Notes, and today… we rest.

Hi friend,

I don’t feel shiny this week.
I feel tired. Flat. Like the weight of the vision — even the one I love, even the one I chose — got heavier than I was ready to carry.

This happens. Not just to me, not just to founders. But to all of us who create, care, and imagine futures that don’t exist yet. Sometimes, the body says slow down, and the spirit says push through. And we’re left somewhere in the middle, curled up in a hoodie, staring at a blinking cursor and wondering why we feel so far from ourselves.

But here’s the thing I’m learning, slowly:
rest is not the opposite of progress. rest is what makes it sustainable.

When I get still, I remember what I’m building. I remember that Y’allsWell isn’t just a ranch. It’s a rhythm. A world. A set of values for people like us — people who want to heal, play, grow, and rest. So I’m letting that mission hold me up while I pause. I’m letting the why breathe again, even if the how is still murky.

🌿 So What Did We Actually Do?

Even in the fog, seeds got planted:

• I started mapping out what Y’allsWell could one day yield. A winery. An orchard. A production studio. Set rentals. endless UGC. Retreats. Cooking residencies. Softball & sports tournaments. This isn’t just a farm. It’s a future world — and launching it online first? That’s the most radical part. We’re dreaming into code, content, and connection before the soil.

• I found myself wanting to resurface Y’all Sports, the inclusive sports media project I paused last year. It keeps knocking on the door. And I think it belongs as part of this larger ecosystem. Imagine: a physical Y’allsWell sports & media field where queer athletes come to play and be documented in full color.

• I started organizing the backend. Finances, insurance, the blueprint for turning my second bedroom into a micro fundraising machine. We’re not just doing cute coloring pages. We’re building a soft digital empire. One that funds land acquisition and long-term sustainability.

• I started writing out job descriptions, dream team roles, and plotting how to bring people in. Because I can’t — and shouldn’t — do this alone.

✨ And Then There Was the Real Work: Rest

The hardest thing I did this week? Letting myself take a break.

Not quitting.
Not giving up.
But resting with intention.

I set my alarm for 6:30, even if I snoozed it. I made coffee slowly. I stretched. I wrote morning pages. I colored. I cleaned the kitchen in silence. I reconnected to the idea that a routine is a gift to your nervous system. And routine is what keeps you well enough to finish what you start.

📍What We’re Thinking About Next:

• Creating more mindful products that help others rest (not just grow)

• Bringing Y’allSports back in a micro-content format

• Filming our coloring book journey as a soft docuseries

• Starting to plan the structure of Y’allsWell as a media production company

• Hosting small virtual coworking sessions to invite others into the vision

• Continuing to rest as resistance

🌱 A Reminder From the Ranch

You don’t have to earn your softness.
You don’t have to grind through your grief.
You don’t have to finish healing before you start dreaming.

This is what we’re building. Not just land. Not just products.
But a world where queer wellness is the baseline, not the afterthought.
And that means rest.
That means rhythm.
That means knowing when to slow down so the dream doesn’t burn out before it begins.

💻 Want to Root for Y’allsWell Right Now?

🛒 Shop the digital downloads, coloring pages, and soft goods at yallswell.com
🌱 Send a donation to help fund the land, the build, and the movement
📲 Follow @yallswell on Instagram + TikTok
💬 Share with me: What does rest look like in your world? Do you give yourself enough?

Thanks for being here. Even in my flat, foggy, sleepy state — I know this is still worth it.
We’re not at the finish line. But we’re still in motion.
And that’s enough for today.

With softness,
Danielle
Founder, Y’allsWell Ranch 🌾