A simple life hack is to keep your GPS in "North Up" mode. You can follow directions while still maintaining spatial awareness. I started doing this many years ago after a particularly egregious routing error sent me an hour in the wrong direction.
North up can be usable on my cars with GPS, but outdated maps and difficulty of making changes while in motion mean those aren't used.
I've given it some thought since then. If I'm traveling through some place for the first time, current-direction-up makes some sense. Especially at night or when it is hazy. I just depend on the directions being correct, and zoom back out to make sure I'm going the right direction.
If I'm travelling in some city like Phoenix which is laid out on a grid, north-up makes sense any time of day.
Generally I have a reference in mind: "destination is north and east of me, this side of the river, and this side of the interstate -- don't cross those".
That presumes there was spatial awareness in the first place. Most people don't understand directions (as in cardinal and relative) nor can relate their current position to the map. Hell, the reason most of them ain't lost and got eaten by wolves is just because they live in the cities, there are no wolves and eventually someone can point them to the right direction.
Also, every time people use 'GPS' instead of a 'navigation system' I mentally facepalm again. Thanks, America. Now I need to get in my 'Nissan' Ford to drive to 'Target' Walmart.