go through the motions

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go through the motions (third-person singular simple present goes through the motions, present participle going through the motions, simple past went through the motions, past participle gone through the motions)

1. (idiomatic) To do something in a mechanical, unreflective manner, especially as a matter of routine and without commitment or enthusiasm; to perform a task perfunctorily.
   • 1905, Mark Twain, chapter 3, in The $30,000 Bequest:

     Aleck was a Christian from the cradle, and duty and the force of habit required her to go through the motions.

   • 1919, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, chapter 15, in Rainbow Valley, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Frederick A[bbott] Stokes Company, →OCLC:

     They went through the motions of living, but they didn't live.

   • 2003 July 8, Jason Zweig, Benjamin Graham, “Get Rich Slowly: How to Pick a Financial Adviser”, in Time:

     In screening an adviser, these should be your goals:
     —To determine whether he or she cares about helping clients or just goes through the motions […]

   • 2005 June 12, Michael Kinsley, “No Smoking Gun”, in Washington Post‎:

     The whole "weapons of mass destruction" concern was phony from the start, and the drama about inspections was just kabuki: going through the motions.

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