1
general::
Phrase(s): go through the motions
Fig. to make a feeble effort to do something; to do something insincerely or in cursory fashion. • 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.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Do something perfunctorily, or merely pretend to do it. For example, The team is so far behind that they're just going through the motions, or She didn't really grieve at his death; she just went through the motions. [c. 1800]
American Heritage Idioms