Congrats on GMing something !!
ROT is a pain, yes. There's no doubt about it.
I've been playing on Siege approximately since the beginning of the year and I'm roughly about to hit 7X GM on my one and only character (a pure crafter).
The secret is persistance. Make sure you log on EVERY DAY and max out your allowable gains for the day. I am lucky that I am able to log on from work every 15 minutes to get my gains.
ROT has HELPED ME GREATLY on Siege because it gives you GUARANTEED gains while wasting the minimum amount of resources (wood, ingots, regs, etc.).
Let me stop babbling and give you one final CONGRATS on GMing your first skill.
*Cheers*