...Once you find the rhythm and cadence to the work it becomes so much faster.
This is in large part the reason that the EA takes so long. Not only are you learning the work, you're learning HOW to learn the work. In this day and age, we all tend to depend heavily on the written or online word. Learning mouth-to-ear harkens back to a time when people learned differently, and requires some "re-wiring" of the mind. In my case, the more I learned, the easier it was to learn and retain.
As for time constraints, I was initiated at a time when I had an eleven month old and a 15 year old, along with a wife, a job, a side business and church requirements. It can be done, and it can be done without leaving anyone out, but it takes some planning on your part. Obviously, the more time you can give it, the faster it will go, but faster isn't always better. Part of the learning has to do with getting to know your teacher and brothers. Friendships are built over time, and shouldn't be rushed. Neither should the memory work be rushed. This isn't a race. If it takes you longer, then it takes you longer. In Texas, you've got a year to learn your EA work. I did mine in something like four months, even with my schedule. Truth be known, I'd have been better off to have taken longer and asked more questions than I did. I've had most of those unasked questions answered since, but it would have been better, I think, for the answers to have come while learning the work, at least, so much as they could have been answered at that time.
So go for it. It was a great decision for me to make. my only regret is that I waited so long to make the request.