No it is not bad that you didn't wait, you did the right thing...
I would turn on the skimmer. It will help keep your tank clean. The idea is that if you leave it off it will help your tank cycle faster because it leaves more junk in the water for the bacteria to consume. However the bacteria will grow either way. It will always take about a month for it to grow and leaving more food in there will not make them grow any faster. If leaving the skimmer off DOES help, I don't think it helps enough to justify living with a dirty tank.