Though you will and should figure out most of your Hogwarts journey on your own,here are some things which I found useful,and you may find useful in your life at Hogwarts,especially at first year.

Remembralls-these are magical spheres with whitish or transparent smoke inside them,and the smoke turns red when you forget something and does not turn back white until you remember all the things you forgot.These are available in Diagon Alley.These can help you keep track of your schedule and all the things you need to do,if it gets overwhelming.

Marauders Map-There is only one Marauders Map,which Harry Potter owns,a magical map which shows in the form of moving ink dots,the location in real time of anyone you want to see,wherever they are.This can help you avoid professors and make mischief.Though you need to do your own research on this object,because there's a lot to tell,I can tell you that I,with the help of my friends,tried to and successfully made one,mimicking the map created by the original creators.This will need to be done by making a lot of mischief because it involves a lot of advanced magic and it took me a lot of practising spells outside class and many trips to the restricted section of the library breaking the rules and performing magic I should not be knowing how to do in first year,but you can still try to make it,as if you do,it can be very helpful.

Invisibility Cloak-You can try keeping one with you to disappear if you find yourself in trouble or to sneak into the restricted section of the library or to make other mischief,but almost always you will be caught,because invisibility cloaks,except Harry Potter's true invisibility cloak,are very common objects and your professors know well enough what they are,so be careful.

Writing A Diary-Writing a diary helps you to release your emotions and feel better and also to record your excitements and magical adventures,and keep track of your progress as well.It can be a healing experience to write a diary and also even more exciting to share it with others,if you choose to publish it in the Hogwarts library.I did it and I can tell you its fun.

Learning the charm Accio and Aguamenti beforehand-Learning these two simple spells before they are taught in class make life at Hogwarts a lot simpler,as Accio is a summoning charm and allows you to summon your books,parchments,inkpots or clothes,uniforms and robes,anywhere,thus saving you a lot of trips to get them,and Aguamenti,the water making spell,allows you to fill your drinking cup whenever you want and drink water at any time or even during class without having to look for or visit the bathrooms.

Practising spells-You must always practise the Lumos and Nox charm which you will learn in Charms and DADA class,as they are very useful,and are the magical version of a muggle flashlight for you at Hogwarts.You must also practise any spells taught in class from time to time and attempt to practise simple spells from other spellbooks from the library as this is something only practice makes perfect and you will want to ease into the ease of wielding a wand by practising spells again and again,inside and outside class.Beware of magical exhaustion though,you will learn what magical exhaustion is in your classes.

Making friends-Make good friends to survive at Hogwarts as they will be good companions to you and help you feel better and helped,compared to dealing with life at Hogwarts alone.You can follow people on the magical social media and see the ones who follow you back,and then send them letters via owl or to whoever catches your fancy to start making friends,and then you can hang out with them in class and other places.You can try the Great Hall,the common room and the dorms to find people to make friends too.

Staying focussed on study-Stay focussed on your studies and do not neglect them,no matter what you do with friends,or for fun.You will need your studies to pass the exams,to be a competent witch or wizard in your future in the wizarding world,and to have a good foundation for the higher years,when you will have to take your O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s,the results of which will determine your future career in the wizarding world.

Enjoy Your Essay Assignments-The essay assignments in first year are all optional,and not mandatory or compulsory,but you can do them for extra credit and house points,and why would you want to miss out on house points or some extra credit?However,I recommend you must do them and not only do,but also enjoy them,as they help grasp the concepts discussed in class and help build interest in the subject,and can also be fun and refreshing to do,and if you enjoy them,they become easier to complete and also often get better grades than if you do them by force.

Legilimency and Occlumency-These are two branches of magic which are not taught at Hogwarts,but may be of help for you to know that they exist and what they are,especially if you are a muggle-born,so that you atleast know its really happening if it happens that is someone tries to perform it on you,and have an idea of how to deal with it.Legilimency is a type of magic that aims at breaking down the layers inside another person's mind and interpreting the findings correctly.It is hard,but possible,and the witches or wizards who practise legilimency are called Legilimens.Occlumency on the other hand is the magic opposite of Legilimency,which helps to counter Legilimency.Occlumency aims at shutting down one's emotions and closing one's mind to prevent a Legilimens from deciphering their thoughts and other things on their mind.

Report to your professors and trust them-Your Hogwarts professors are skilled and accomplished witches or wizards,very well versed and experienced in the branches of magic they teach.If you find something funny happening,which is beyond your understanding,or your control,report to one of the professors,better still,to a professor teaching the branch of magic that deals with or atleast most closely resembles the problem you are facing.Report any uncanny incidents to your Charms professor,any magical injuries to your Potions Professor,any funny looking half-and-half object or creature to your Transfiguration Professor,any dark creatures or threatening magical animals or creatures to the CoMC professor,any funny looking or threatening plants to the Herbology professor and call upon your DADA professor to deal with anything extraordinary which unknown to you may be related to dark magic and to deal with dark creatures.They are always happy to aid you and you can trust them.Also try to be of aid to others if you see them in trouble by calling upon your Professors to deal with the problem.Never hide anything that may seem problematic or extraordinary,as over time the danger may increase manifold times or become unbeatable,by the time you decide to report it.

I may have missed something,but I hope that the ones I mentioned will be of a lot of help to you in your first year at Hogwarts.