Scales for example - do we really need to practice scales everyday once we're proficient? It probably makes more sense to switch up the type of scales each day.
No. The thing is that if you practice correctly, then the technique you gain in one area often transfers to another. So with scales, you can get into a rotation of doing only a couple a day. But the way I do them is to play them slowly, 8th notes at 60, and making them as rhythmically accurate as possible. Dead on with the metronome. And a lot of repetitions. 3 or 4 scales for 20 minutes has more benefit for me than playing All majors, 3 forms of minor, diminished, augmented, etc. in every key for an hour.
And really, I only practice major and harmonic minor. The natural minor is just the major scale starting on a different note. Practicing it is redundant. Likewise, the descending form of melodic minor is just the natural minor (and thus a mode of the major) scale and the ascending form is like a hybrid of the major and minor scales. There's really nothing new there that needs to be practiced for techniques sake. The harmonic minor is a bit different because of that augmented 2nd. So if you practice just 2 majors and 2 harmonic minors a day, you'll have gone through all keys by the end of the week.
Now, I do run my scales every day, just for peace of mind to make sure everything is still where it should be. But I only actually practice 4 scales a day.
As far as modes, I think of scale practicing as technique building rather than practicing for recall. When I practice scales, I'm building and maintaining technique. If I know my modes already, then by practicing scales the full range of the horn, then I'm also practicing technique for the modes at the same time. Where you have to practice specific modes is when you can't recall them fast enough when you need them. So if you have trouble thinking of the Locrian scale in some keys, then you'd practice that mode in those weak keys. But if you know your modes well, then practicing them is really just building technique which can be accomplished by playing your major and minor scales full range.
I do think tone exercises should be done pretty much every day, but they don't have to take a long time so it's not a big deal.
Sight reading is a skill. Practice if you want to get better. Practice every once in a while if you just need/want to maintain your current skill level.
And the jazz stuff is up to you. If you need to learn tunes, then spend time on it. Just be thorough. Really learn a tune. Don't try to learn a new one every day because you'll just forget it. And the same goes for learning and applying vocabulary. If you are working on that kind of stuff, then you probably should practice it every day until it's internalized than then you can shift to different tunes/vocab.
Learning something printed? Only if you want to learn something that is. I wouldn't go out of my way to learn something printed if I didn't want/need to. I do think it's important to learn music. Things other than technical exercises, scales, arpeggios, etc. This can be a classical solo, a part from an ensemble piece (wind ensemble, big band, sax quartet, whatever). It can be a lead sheet, a transcribed solo, anything really as long as it's musical. It doesn't have to be written though, it can be something you've learned by ear. It's just important to have some actual musical to work on to provide some balance with the technical stuff.
