Self-study courses are boring and it is hard to keep yourself awake during the study sessions. It's even harder to focus and retain while you are studying by yourself.
The path that works for you may be different...
Below is the path that i took:
1. Establish an exam date. I skimmed through the materials and determined the number of slides i had to get through. Then I determined that i can feasibly get through about 30 slides a day and retain the materials. Then i established my exam date.
2. Establish study time that worked for me every day. For me it was 5am to 6:30am every day. This was the time of the day that was the most fresh for me. No one to disturb me, my mind was not cultured with everything I had to do, distracted with news/markets/Trump, etc. I got my study station ready every night before I went to sleep. The only thing I had to do every morning was to turn on my computer, make my coffee and start taking notes.
3. Don't skip a day. That is how I wasted my first 20 days. Easy to find anything to derail the schedule. I even decided that I would rather clean, then study. If your mind is even thinking about, turn it off.
4. When you have reached 7 consistent days of studying, then divide the remaining number of slides by the number of slides you have gotten through on average each day. This will determine number of days you will need to get through the materials.
5. Now you are ready to register for the exam. Add 7 days to the number of days you came up with in step 4.