take your eye off the ball
take (one's) eye off the ball
To fail to remain focused on or motivated about some goal, objective, or matter at hand. You can't take your eye off the ball just before this merger deal is supposed to go through, not when there is so much at stake! I was on my way to earning my PhD, but I really took my eye off the ball toward the end of the program.
See also: ball, eye, off, take
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
take your eye off the ball
If you take your eye off the ball, you stop paying attention for a moment to something you are doing, and as a result something bad happens. You can't take your eye off the ball for a moment on this project. Compare with keep your eye on the ball.
See also: ball, eye, off, take
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
- take (one's) eye off the ball
- a means to an end
- means to an end
- fall flat
- fail at life
- stop at
- stop at (something)
- have eye on
- mission creep
- striking distance