No BS, no waffle, just mix down tips.
1. Low cut (high pass) any non bass related sounds.
We covered the 'why' in this post here.
Low cut at around 100hz to 150hz - it'll open up your mix and allow it to breathe.
Low cut 25hz and 19k just to roll off any rogue frequency material happening outside of those ranges.
2. Mix the loudest part first
At mix down, loop the loudest most important part first. Set levels at this point as correctly as possible. In a pop track for example this would be your final "All in" chorus.
3. Get those volumes right.
Whats your most important element? Is it the vocal? The synth line? The Baseline? The Kick? All depends on the track and the genre. Build your volumes around the most important track feature. Start with the volume on that one part first then bring everything in under that.
4. Panning - Save this till mix down.
Get the mix feeling right all down the middle then work on stereo placement at mix down. It'll save time during initial creation process and give you more objective overview at mix down.
5. Mix the loudest part first
At mix down, loop the loudest most important part first. Set levels at this point as correctly as possible. In a pop track for example this would be your final "All in" chorus.
6. Is your speaker placement right?
A lot can be done with a little when it comes to existing speaker placement and placement is key to get the best out of your speakers when you have nothing else. Neumann know a thing or two about good audio and they have a great guide on placement here.
7. Reference it.
It can be both scary and humbling referencing against commercial tracks because it quickly shows up flaws in your own ability, gear, listening environment whatever it be but using it as a tool it'll provide really deep insight into which you can use to make your mixes better.