Get/keep/set/start the ball rolling verb phrase
Begin to take action on an activity
I can't keep on procrastinating any longer. I have to get the ball rolling now!
After receiving the email, Alex started the ball rolling on the work right away.
To start working on something seriously or determinedly; to start doing what needs to be done
To make something beginning or happenning, especially an acitivity, event or a series of events
It's time for something to start.
The verb "get/keep/set/start" should be conjugated according to its tense.
This expression is an American variation of an older British expression 'keep the ball up' from the 1700s, which had the meaning continue something.
The expression became popular due to the 1840 presidential campaign of William Harrison. During the campaign, his staff created large spheres known as Victory Balls, which were rolled through the streets while the crowd chanted, “Keep the ball rolling.”
Moreover, this expression is a sports term in the croquet game in Britain from the mid-1850s.