With my ATO, I was given the advice to lean the mixture really slowly. During the flight, the ATO gave me the advice that just because a certain track is the most direct route doesn't mean I should always fly it - there was a mountainous area that I would have flown over, but he told me I should track up a valley not too far away so that I had better options if the engine quit.
If you can't find the homestead/small dam/tree stump that they want you to find, don't freak out! You just have to find it within 15 minutes, so fly back to the last place you were sure of where you were, and try again.
And when he sees how well you can turn in circles using only the compass, remember ONUS, and don't concentrate on holding height so much that you forget to roll out where you've been told!