To put it simply, find yourself a decent instructor, who has flown somewhere for real.
Get some old ex airline pilot type, perhaps. Too many PPL instructors are just hour builders, and there are some real old space wasters hanging in there too.
You need to learn the basic principles of IFR, which means using navaids. Plus GPS too, which is today's main method of nav.
You also need to learn about cockpit organisation, which is important in keeping one step ahead of the plane.