Understand what's happening with the timer
Normal dropped items will disappear after approximately 5 minutes of processing the area. This is not an unconditional five minutes of real time after death: in the unloaded area the timer does not run, and another player nearby can keep the area active. Reference: Minecraft: Recovery Compass.
Fire, lava, explosions and void can destroy prey earlier. netherite survives fire and lava, but does not make the entire inventory fire resistant. On servers, the grave and keepInventory plugins change the rules - check the actual behavior of world.
Prepare one quick return
Write down the coordinates, measurement and landmark. Take 8–16 ready-made portions, cheap weapons, 32 blocks, torches and the necessary protection; leave most of the cells empty. After death in water, the supply of air is more important; after a fall, descent is more important; after lava, access from a safe shore is more important.
The recovery compass indicates the last death in the current dimension. In another dimension the needle rotates; It does not provide teleportation. Keep it by your bed rather than carrying it in a lost kit.
The instructions cover the descent, lava and navigation in the tunnels: Safe mining: descending, branching and working near lava.
Take out the valuables first
Approach through cover, block the source of damage and pick up things. Immediately put the armor and weapons you find into equipment: a full inventory does not mean that you are protected.
If everything doesn't fit, place a temporary chest on a safe floor and unload the cheap stuff. Don't stand at the point of death for the sake of perfect triage. Upon return, note any hazards along the route and replenish the kit at your bedside.
Recording coordinates and road signs are described in the manual: Maps and signposts: make your world easier to navigate.
