Originally Posted by Rseat

My personal checklist.

Don't accept landing clearances on downwind, dog legs, where I may lose the runway or overshoot trying to intercept. Never at night, unless I'm assured of some kind of verified backup, especially airports outside of my base. I always ask for the longest runway available and double check things when using RNAV/GPS for backup. They can turn into distractions if not loaded correctly or the VNAV doesn't like something.

I don't get anxious looking for the airport/runway so that we can be cleared for the approach. I don't care, let the controller do their job and vector me to a safe point where I may better see it.