Plenty of advice so far chum, my tupenceworth;
Keep it simple, try to keep the big picture (easy said I know!).
Clock is God- Event cycle will stop you maxing yourself out trying to thumbcrawl along track eg Post-HAT Cx complete, next event is at ?min/sec, map down and LOOKOUT.
Scan
-Lookout for Big feature ahead/other traffic
-Picture for msd
-Instruments for hdg/airspeed/power/CLOCK -next event
Practise mdr esp clock code for drift + g'speed.
Route study as advice already given esp flying the route through on the gnd, give yourself a wind to mdr crunch HAT Cx, ask what if I get a div/Wx avoid and think it through.
The QFIs may look all calm, they will have plenty of local knowledge probably having been there plenty of times before. Take any pilot in a trg aircraft to an unfamiliar area and all will use the techniques- trust them they work!