First and foremost, don't try anything you read here without first discussing it with your instructor.
I had a similar problem to you when I was learning to fly, and it stayed with me even after I passed my PPL until an instructor giving me a type rating told me when you think you should be flaring, look out the window on a 45 degree angle at an object next to the runway (like a hangar, a tree or another aircraft) and your height above the ground will become readily apparent.
As far as flaring too fast, you have to remember that in order to flare you have to round out first, and the two need to blend together. The trick is to ease the stick back to reduce your rate of descent without arresting it entirely. My instructor made me count to 10 aloud while flaring to get the action right. When I asked him how I could possibly flare in time to avoid hitting the ground, he said to start "flaring" earlier. The ideal landing would see you arrive at your landing spot in the correct landing attitude at minimum flying speed, so he said to start at that point in time and work backwards and fly the plane from the approach to that point. Sometimes simplifying the problem can make it click, and I finally "got it".
As for your original post, it doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as you get there in the end!
Last edited by flyinkiwi; 21st October 2010 at 22:06.