Ask Lemmy

When I first started driving, it was with manual. And it really helped once I realized two things:

• Being shitty at gear shifts won't make me fail at the final test. Instructor told me as much. If I wear out the clutch and cox up the engine through repeated stalls, that's my problem - I can torture and destroy my car through ineptitude, as long as it's done in accordance with road safety.
• Getting used to the clutch is half the battle. Not clutches in general, but the specific one you're driving. Once you get used to know how insensitive or sensitive it is, the rest will be a lot easier. With time (and not a whole lot of it, actually), you'll be shifting gear without having to think much about it, just like the rest; right now you're struggling with you many areas that require your focus. As you practice them, you will do all of them without thinking about them.

I still need a while getting used to new gearboxes whenever I'm using someone else's car.

Oh, and a tip: be sure to memorize the gear positions, and while standing still with the engine off you can practice shifting from and to any gear without looking. That's one less thing to pay attention to.