Normally when you upshift in front, you then immediately backshift the rear once or twice to get a manageable effect on your cadence, and vice versa. So yeah, it's a pain to be doing it all the time. But when you'll be staying in the taller gear range for a while, use the big ring.

You can run a comparison with the gear calculator on Sheldon Brown's page. http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/