I'd agree with Nozwaldo. The amount of information you have to memorise is bordering on the absurd. The strange part is though, not all of it is required for the exam. My method for getting through each subject was:
Read the book from front to back, try and understand everything as you go. If you get stuck, don't panic. Thats what the brush up course is for. Complete the progress tests as you go. Then book your brush up for 2 weeks after you finish. For those 2 weeks hit the OLQB. This will give you and idea of what the style of Q are likely to be and (some might say more importantly) tells you what is NOT examined. You quickly get an idea of what you need to memorise. If you get to the point where you can do fairly well in a mock exam, then you are ready for the brush up.
The brush up is a case of going over the important parts of the syllabus, asking about parts you were unsure of and getting the very latest exam feed back. Expect to go over the material at a very fast pace during the day and do 5-10 exams during the evening. All exams are debriefed.
After the course, I prefered a 2 week break before the exams. Others go straight in on the Monday. It's up to you.
Remember, the exams are designed so that even if you are einstein with 20 years of flying experience, you still need to put a lot of work in. It ain't pretty.
I started off the course in the same frame of mind as you robbo (ie looking forward to it). However, watch the colour drain off your face as you start to memorise vast amounts of needless junk (fire extinguishers, south american winds, evacuation slides, ICAO annexes, the list is endless....)
Remember, avaition is fun!
EK