Back in 'the day' ie before computers I used to recommend starting with a planisphere, a Norton's Star Atlas (or something similar - a few broad-scale charts that each cover a fair area of sky) and the naked eye. These days you might substitute suitable software on a lappy or tablet, provided it has a night-vision mode. Then start by learning some basic constellations, the first step in finding DSOs. You can do this when you are short of time, it's a bit cloudy or there is too much moon - any time putting up the scope is too much effort. So, at the moment you will find the southern cross (Crux) high in the south early in the evening. From here you can find Centaurus, Carina, Musca and even Corvus. Low in the east you should be able to identify Scorpio and from this you will find Sagittarius and Ophiuchius. If you master that you won't have to waste an hour with the scope set up just to work out what basic part of the sky you're looking at.
