Just drove for the first time today!

How has 3 years of practice been?

 

As time goes on and after you have your CDL, you should learn to shift without the clutch (except for starting off and reverse). It can all be done with just the tach and the accelerator, up shifting and downshifting. You can almost feel the transmission pull the stick into the next position.
It will all become easier and easier, just take your time.

 

One of the things that my instructor gave us for shifting, is the rhythm for how long it should take to shift from one gear into another, and it is about the amount of time between finger snaps from the Adams Family theme song. Da Na Na Nah (snap-snap). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVDJvrBFDDc Watch this if you've forgotten that great show. I don't know if it will help you guys out, but it made sense, and I was able to incorporate it into my driving.