Great question Izzys & Archies Dad,
To fill you in, I am 25 and have just finished 7yrs of study which included a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL-2.5yrs), Multi Engine Command Instrument Rating (MECIR-1month), Air Transport Pilot Licence Theory exams (ATPL-about 13months as I self studied and got lazy in the middle) and a Bachelor of aviation (BAvn-3yrs)all here in the land down under.
I took 2.5yrs to do my CPL as I was working at the same time to pay for cost of living and also part of the flying (folks lent me a bit after I got to PPL). I used to fly on the weekends for the first part up to about PPL which I think was fine as u need time between flights to reflect and study and plan etc. Then towards the end of my CPL I started taking days off work to fly 3-4 days a week. During PPL your flights are shorter so u feel like your getting less hrs each week than a CPL student which is true as your practicing basic stuff that doesnt require long nav flights of 3 hrs or so. but once u get the PPL your flights get longer so u will do more flying hrs per day than in the past....if that all makes sense?
Doing it in one block if possible im sure is great as u get it done real fast but this isnt always possible. The only thing I can say is that At the very start I was only flying 2 times a month which was a waste as u got a bit rusty easily at that early stage in flying. as a result I stopped for a bit til I could do it each weekend...then it was game on and here I am now...hehe
I did the MECIR as a full time one month course which was great as it is lots of work and to be fresh made it easier.
At the end of the day u have to work out the ideal versus the practical.
If u have any other questions u think I can help with dont hesitate to ask...thats what the PPrune is all about.
Hope the ramble helped.
Jorocketoz