Keeping motivated to study can be difficult.   This is particularly true for online classes.   It takes both desire and self-discipline.   Luckily there is a skills component to all my classes.   Practicing the skills can help keep the class interesting.    All the classes I teach will include practice exercises (often called E-Labs in Cisco classes).    I encourage you to practice the commands in the examples, even if you already "know" them.  There can be several benefits to this that I suggest below.    There may be others.   If you think of some, please post them to the class discussion board.

• Most of us remember something more easily if we not only "hear" it, but also "see" or "do" it.  It is sometimes referred to as auditory, visual, and kinesthetic ways of learning.  In addition, it seems that alternating study with practice in short sessions often provides for better and quicker learning than long periods of times spent listening to lectures or, in this case,  reading.  (That is one reason why I often say to login and logout three times after you change your password.)

• Most unix scripts or router configurations are just collections more basic commands.  The more you practice with the basic commands, the more comfortable you become using them.  The more comfortable you are with them, the easier it is to visualize how to use them to solve problems.  
  

• Related to that is the value of making sure you know how to do simple operations before you attempt complex ones.   Musicians  spend some time practicing  notes and chords before playing complex songs.  It is the same for us.

• Practice makes it easier to remember the sometimes confusing details of command options.  For example, in Unix have you ever wondered why  "sort" uses a "-t" option to indicate which character marks the boundary between fields of text, and "cut" uses "-d" to indicate exactly the same thing?  I, for one, have no idea!  It is just something we need to remember or be able to look up quickly.

• Practice builds up a sort of body memory of commands in your hands.   It may sound strange, but there have been many times when I worked in the computer industry (often when under pressure or very tired) that my conscious mind could not remember how to do a task, but when I sat down at the keyboard my hands seemed to know what to do.

• Practice saves you time in the long run.  For all the reasons above. And that builds confidence and makes it more fun.

• Lastly, practice is more fun than just reading.  Usually.