to go through the motions - to make a
feeble effort to do something; to do something insincerely or in cursory fashion; to do something
because you are expected to do it and not because you want to; to do something without
believing it is important
Jane isn't doing her best. She's just going through the motions.
Bill was supposed to be
raking the yard, but he was just going through the motions.
These days when we go out, cook
a meal together, or even
make love, I get the feeling that he's just going through the motions.
After his wife died, he went through the motions of living, without feeling much of anything.
