#RBMValues: Music for Getting Things Done, Son

By Kyle Christensen:

We’re back with another RBM value. This month, you’ll learn how to hit your set goals by using our value of GTD. In other words, you’ll learn how to deliver your projects on time with no fuss, just commitment. Read about our fifth value below and get your free playlist here! Don’t have Spotify? Listen to the playlist at the end of this article!

What is GTD?

Red Branch Media defines GTD (Getting Things Done) as, “It’s about getting things done around here. Long implementation times? Later.”

Getting Things Done is a value that is lived and breathed by each Brancher. It’s the special ingredient we serve each day to ensure we deliver all the projects we set out to do. We take our work seriously, and unlike other agencies, our word actually means something at Red Branch Media. By honing our focus and mapping out each day with a plan of action, our projects are done, sent, and delivered. Check and mate.

How We Apply GTD

For me, GTD is about having strong-willed dedication. At Red Branch Media, one of the things we pride ourselves on is our ability to put the pedal to the metal each week to ensure we get every little thing done. And this doesn’t come at the cost of delivering sub-par work. We put our Midwestern work ethic into each task at an accelerated pace to ensure every project is delivered on time, in the best quality.

“We are all about the work hard, play hard concept here at Red Branch. We bust our butts during the week to deliver the best of the best for each of our clients. We reflect on all of our hard work and unwind at the end of every week, recharge over the weekend and get ready to go full speed again on Monday.”

– Jessica Thiem, Account Manager at Red Branch Media (@Jessica_RBM)

How You Can Have the GTD Spirit, Like Us

It’s time to go HAM.

Here are 3 things you can do right now to boost your GTD spirit:

Boost 1: On Monday morning, make sure you have a strategic plan for the week. Look at all of your tasks and make a note of all the things that NEED to get done for the week. Make sure to also write time estimates next to each project. Next, you’ll need to dig deeper and make what we call at Red Branch Media, a #6Things list. This will be a list that includes 6 tasks you will push yourself to complete before the day ends. When you’re writing your list, look at the estimates next to your week’s tasks you noted earlier to make sure the tasks you choose for today will fill your day perfectly. Here’s how. When you write your list, include 1 big task, 2 medium tasks, and 3 small tasks that add up to the hours in your workday. Planning in this way will help you not to overwork yourself throughout the week. For Tuesday – Friday, make a new #6Things list each morning before you start your day in this same fashion.

Boost 2: Find faster ways to do things. It’s easy to get comfortable with completing tasks the “same way as usual” once you master your method. Just because you’re fast at your way of doing things, doesn’t mean it’s the fastest method out there. Instead, make a habit of researching different ways to complete your tasks. More than likely, there’s a method out there that’s better and more efficient. An added tip: try looking for tools to assist. There might some you can either use for free or purchase at a low cost to speed up your processes too. For example, we love using remove.bg to handle photo cutouts in the design department, which saves us minutes to HOURS, depending on the number of cutouts we’ll need to make for the day.

Boost 3: We’re going full circle here. If you’re following along and are trying out Boost 1 above, the most important day will of your week will be Friday. Understandably, there will be days where you won’t be able to hit all of the things on your #6Things list, in which case you’ll have no choice but carry them over to the next day. That’s where Friday comes in. TGIF? More like IFLGTD (It’s Friday, Let’s Get Things Done). In other words, you should think of Fridays as the ultimate day to go HAM to GTD. No excuses.

To add motivation, consider ending work an hour before the workday and hosting a reward-based get together with your co-workers. How would that happen, you ask? At Red Branch Media, we call 2 pm Power Hour. During this hour, if we haven’t completed our day’s tasks yet, we have 60 minutes to make sure we get all of our week’s deliverables COMPLETE by 3 pm. The reward? At 3pm – 4pm, the last hour of our Friday workday, we celebrate with an Eatin’ Meetin’ where we’ll have snacks, wine, and we’ll go around the meeting table and have each Brancher share what they’re proud of themselves for this week and what they’re proud of another Brancher for.

GTD is both a mindset and a skill. Find ways to improve your GTD abilities each day, and try out these 3 boosts above to get yourself on the right track. If you’ve got that GTD spirit, your clients will never leave your side. Make sure to check our blog next month for another value you can learn about and use.

In the meantime, bookmark this article and listen to the GTD playlist on Spotify that’s 100% Brancher-made by the entire team at Red Branch Media!

Keep Up with All of Our #RBMValue Playlists, Here:

• #RBMValues: Music That’s Fit for Grit
• #RBMValues: Music with a Ferocity of Curiosity
• #RBMValues: Music to Kick-Start Your Ignition for Naked Ambition
• #RBMValues: Music with a Nobility for Accountability

How to Find Us on Spotify

There are a few ways to find us on Spotify. First, you’ll need a Spotify account. You can do that by going to www.spotify.com and creating a free account. Unless ads drive you nuts, a free account is all you’ll need. After you’ve got your account, go to our page and click follow. By following us, you’ll get email notifications each time we put out a new playlist. We’ll be creating fresh lists for you each month, so you can listen to them as soon as we publish them! Now go download the desktop application for your computer, the app for your phone or stream music online by taking a listen to our playlist here.

Kyle Christensen

Kyle is the Brand Director at Red Branch Media.

Kyle leads our Graphic Design Department at Red Branch Media. His ability to manage incoming tasks, collaborate with the design team, hit deadlines and keep our file storage system well-organized has helped to shape the design department clients love today. While he’s away from the branch, he spends his time playing drums, video games, cranking the latest emo, pop-punk and screamo songs on Spotify, drinking local Omaha brews, and enjoying life with his wife. Kyle has a BASA with a Concentration in Graphic Design and a Minor in Art History from UNO.