Hello, I am an IELTS academic 8.5 achiever!
and I can tell you that IELTS academic reading pattern is different and somewhat difficult from general training! and writing task 1 is also boring and very restrictive in nature! listening, speaking and writing task 2 is same for both!
now considering the scenario that you have appeared for IELTS general! and have little to no awareness of academic reading! moreover you have been significantly in employment for a considerable amount of time![as IELTS academic reading and writing make you feel like being a student again, thus you may take some time to get accustomed to it! And personally my observation is that fresh graduates and post graduates perform rather fluidly in IELTS academic! due to obvious reasons!]
ergo,it would take some time! Say, if you completed your preparation for IELTS general in one month! it would take a month and week or two extra for the academic one!
I hope you are satisfied by my answer
and if you need some good IELTS preparation tips I suggest you to go here!
https://therandomblend.com/category/ielts/