About patterns, I think this depends on how you learn. There's nothing wrong with learning patterns in my opinion, patterns are actually very powerful tools for improvising, like pentatonics. A improvising guitarist can't live without these types of ideas. I agree with incidents though, you shouldn't think of your art as being a collection of patterns. Rather movement from scale to scale. If your talking about using patterns to learn scales, I don't know how else you learn scales because scales are nothing by intervallic patterns. I dunno.
When it comes to practicing, the most important habit is practicng daily. You improve quicker if you practice for 30 minutes every day, than if you play 7-9 hrs a day once or twice a week. In my case when I practiced 7 hrs a day it soon became like a job rather than fun, and I eventually stopped playing for awhile. Maybe it won't happen to you but I definitely wouldn't suggest playing longer than what you want. Be dedicated but have a life outside guitar. Anyways I was once told this quote and it is very true, "Miss one day of practicing and you will notice, miss two days and your friends will notice, miss three days and everyone will notice".
"My whole life is a dark room...ONE BIG DARK ROOM" - a.f.i.