Sample handling to avoid degradation & grinding the completely disrupt the tissue are the essential steps.
If possible, flash-freeze the tissue immediately in liquid nitrogen and store at -80*C.
For grinding, best is to use liquid-nitrogen to chill your mortar and pestle to grind frozen tissue into a fine powder. It should like like flour, no chunks.
Do not let the tissue thaw until it's in the first buffer in the kit/protocol.
I'd recommend using a Qiagen kit (or similar). They are well-designed and have variations in the protocol to follow depending on your starting material (plant, insect, blood, etc.). Know which one you should use before you start.
If possible, practice with a sample that's easy to get more of or do a "dry run" where you mimic using the kit without using any reagents.
Good luck!
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