How to study the endgame

It's said that it takes three weeks to master a skill.  So I was thinking of this study plan: dedicate three weeks to one endgame type, start off studying from a one volume guide like FCE then move onto a specialized text like Secrets of Pawn Endings, then leave the minor piece section alone until the next three week block. Then after theoretical queen endings (very few books on these so I'm afraid I'll have to move from the queen section in FCE and BCE to the Queen volume of Comprehensive Chess Endings) I'd move onto strategic chess endings. 

I already did a block of Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky (though reviewing it won't hurt) and am wondering if Secrets of Endgame Strategy and How to Play Chess Endings is a good progression or if these books don't add anything meaningful on the topic.  If I already read Endgame Strategy would those others be redundant?   

Then after a few months move back to pawn endings but this time doing some basic refreshers then moving onto more advanced text such as Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual and Comprehensive Chess Endings.

I just want to know if I'm on the right track. I already did a week of The Survival Guide to Rook Endings and will move onto the rook section of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual if I complete Survival Guide before the three weeks to stay consistent. 

I know I should study middlegame themes such as planning too so I'll fit those into three week blocks as well in between endgame blocks.  This is on top of 15 minutes of tactics a day for a warm up. 

I've always heard it as 10,000 hours to mastery. This number would probably be more relevant to chess as a whole, though.

I started with basic endgame checkmates: rook, queen, two rooks, two bishops. I don't know B+N+K vs K checkmates but that's because it happens so rarely at my level. Pawn endgames seem more important to study for me at this point.

I'm not sure about any of those books. I think just picking a sub-topic, like pawn endgames, and going through that, will help your endgame a lot. There will still be situations where you don't have endgame knowledge to help you, but more knowledge can't hurt.

I particularly enjoyed reading about the Q vs R endgame. I see it as more of a puzzle to be solved than an actual endgame to be memorized. It's such a fascinating setup, and even more fascinating is the fact that the queen can force checkmate even with a rook on the board. There are several starting positions that affect the strategy of forcing the K+R into what's known as a Philidor position.

Fun stuff!

I have yet been able to study endgames at all.

I have several good books, Silman course, Glen Flear book, Smyslov endgame book, Fines book, a Mueller DVD, but I just cant get into the study of endgames. It all seems so vague, like there are a million positions and youll never see what u study

In Fine's book at the end he says the exact amount of specific knowledge is relatively unimportant and that it's grasping the principles well that counts. 

it just all seems so nebulous

The best way to begin studying endgames is with Silman's Complete Endgame Course. Instead of giving you everything about a particular type of endgame at once, he gives you small, easily digested amounts at a time, based on playing skill.

For instance, while most books would put all the rook endgames into one chapter, Silman gives you basic rook endgames early, then some slightly tougher rook endgames in later chapters, and the toughest rook endgames at the end of the book. Each chapter also includes a little bit about pawn only endgames, minor piece endgames, etc. So you learn a little bit at a time about every type of endgame, but you're learning all the easy stuff at once, then later all the intermediate stuff in gradual steps, working your way up to harder material.

This makes this book much easier to read and master the material than any other endgame book. So start with that book, and don't bother with anything else until you're done with that book.

where i can download the book?

Assuming you're referring to the book I talked about in the previous post, I don't think you can download it. I think it's only available in paper.

Thanks all!  Comprehensive Chess Endings Volume 2 just came in today.  It'll be over a month and a half at least before I touch it (I still need to go through Secrets of Pawn Endings and School of Chess Excellence 3) but if nothing else I'll at least learn bishop vs. knight and rook vs. minor piece and vice versa coordination better. 

Now I'm on the rook section in Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual and recognize a couple of positions from Emms' Survival Guide to Rook Endings.  I know Emms-Riemersma like the back of my hand at this point since it looked like a very important position to get down, both the actual game continuation and the sidelines where either white draws or black wins: