I’ll give you an example of how I practice. I’m working on multiple things right now : finger independance, legato speed and stamina, alternate picking speed and economy picking speed. I also have some other things I “know” that I keep working on : major scale modes, 7th arpeggios, and the 5 pentatonic positions. So what my practice routine looks like is:
-Chromatic exercise from hell (1-2-3-4 with every finger combination. I think I saw Papa teach this exercise in one of the lessons)
-Every finger combination on 1 string with hammer-ons and pull-offs, at a constant tempo for 45 seconds each
-5 minutes of crossover picking exercises
-7 minutes of an economy picking pattern that goes through the major scale
-5 minutes of all the major scale mode patterns linked together starting with a root on the 6th string
-5 minutes of all the major scale mode patterns linked together starting with a root on the 5th string
-5 minutes of all the major scale mode patterns starting from the same root note on the 6th string
-5 minutes of all the major scale mode patterns starting from the same root note on the 5th string
-5 minutes of the Maj7th, min7th, dom7th and min7b5 arpeggios starting with a root on the 6th string
-5 minutes of the Maj7th, min7th, dom7th and min7b5 arpeggios starting with a root on the 5th string
-5 minutes of fooling around with the 5 pentatonic positions (one after the other, mix them up etc)
I do this everyday, with a metronome or drum track. I note what BPM I can play these exercises at after every practice, so I can see my progress and what I need to work on more.
So if I’m learning something new, let’s say I’d learn the whole tone scale or something. I’ll spend maybe 20 minutes a day on it for a week, until I’m somewhat semi-comfortable with it, then I’ll add a 5 minute practice period in my practice routine.
So spend the time you need to spend to feel comfortable-ish, then integrate that in your practice routine until you absolutely slay it. Then, keep doing it maybe once a week. There are techniques and theory that will keep coming back in upcoming topic you’ll learn.
As for the major scale, the theory behind it is the foundation for everything else you’re going to learn, so make sure you grasp it. Call out the notes out loud when going through it, then call out the degrees of each note. What will come of that is when you look at a new scale or mode and see a minor 3rd and minor 7th, you’ll be able to play it without having to look at a pattern or tab.
Learning music theory is like learning a new language. You can’t just memorize the words, you need to learn how to build and understand phrases. It can seem daunting, but remember, there are only 12 notes in western music
Edit: Don’t over do it, I’ve found spending 20-30 minutes a day on something yields more result than one 3-hour session a week.