I agree, find a friend who knows how to do it, and have them teach you. It will help both of you. You want to get to the point where your instructor can say, plan a flight from A to B, and in less than an hour, be ready to go with a flight plan filed.
Imagine when you become a Commercial Pilot, you have some costomers who want to get somewhere, and it takes you several hours just to plan the flight. Its an important skill that should be aquired before "cheating."
You can read the Airplane Flying Handbook, and also go to
www.AV8N.com for some flight planning help. Lots of resources, good to see your motivated to learn ahead of time!