The other thing which makes life easier going onto a new aircraft, especially if it's the first jet sim - know absolutely parrot fashion the flight with unreliable airspeed tables before you even set sight on the box.
That way you know the thrust to set, and the pitch to target. Once you have the bird reasonably in the slot, then you can tweak it to make a good job of the task. Personal view only but I find it much easier to get rid of (or scan through) the FD and just fly the ball.
Conversely, if you have no idea of what you should be aiming for .. then you're dead in the water.