Basics of PHP Frameworks

I was in the same boat as the OP.

Been writing PHP for over 10 years, always wanted to learn a framework but never had time.

Even now my time is stretched to the limit but for my last project I sacraficed evenings and weekends to learn Code Igniter. There was some overhead in doing so but I don't regret it, and I know the next project will be much quicker to develop than doing it in plain PHP.

There's a story about a wood cutter who spends an entire day sharpening his axe, but at the end of it he can cut wood much faster than if he started straight away with a blunt axe. We should all try and sharpen our axes now and again even if it feels like we don't have the time.