Again, from my experience, it's not about the RPMs. If you drive slow, you'll have to shift and engage slower. Make sure your clutch pedal is down or close to the floor before shifting. If you get in the habit of shifting while clutch pedal is being pressed, you'll more likely to hear the clunk and feel resistance. To help with the smoothness, press the clutch pedal down to the floor quickly before shifting and ease out of it once you get in 2nd. You shifts will be much more lighter and smooth regardless of RPM.
For daily driving, I find myself hovering under 3k RPM all the time. It gets herky jerky once in awhile. Just watch your footwork with the clutch pedal regardless of how much gas you give it. What I also found that improves smoothness with upshifts is to pivot my foot higher off the floor when pressing down the clutch pedal. When downshifting and starting in first gear, you can press clutch pedal anyway you like it (which I pivot my foot closer or on the floor).
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