You’ve seen it a thousand times on Trello boards, Slack updates, and half-baked construction signs. People toss the phrase around like confetti at a wedding. But here is the thing: most people are actually tripping over their own tongues when they say it. If you’ve ever stopped to wonder about the working in progress meaning, you’re probably sensing that something is slightly off.
It’s clunky. It feels like wearing a sweater inside out.
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The reality is that "working in progress" is a common linguistic slip-up, a mashup of "work in progress" and "working on it." In the professional world, precision matters. When you tell a stakeholder that a project is a "working in progress," you’re technically saying the act of working is currently developing. It’s a bit redundant, honestly.
The Linguistic Glitch: Work vs. Working
Let’s get the grammar police out of the way first. The standard idiomatic expression is Work in Progress (WIP). This term has deep roots in manufacturing and accounting. It refers to goods that are no longer raw materials but aren't quite finished products yet. Think of a car on an assembly line with no doors. That is work in progress.
When people add that "-ing" to make it "working," they are trying to turn a noun phrase into a verb. It happens. We’re busy. Our brains take shortcuts. But in a high-stakes business environment, using the wrong terminology can make you sound less like an expert and more like someone who is just winging it.
Why does this happen?
Usually, it’s because the speaker is mentally combining two distinct thoughts. They want to say "I am working on this" and "This is a work in progress." The result is a hybrid that doesn't quite sit right. It’s what linguists sometimes call a "blend." It’s like saying "irregardless"—we all know what you mean, but it still makes some people cringe.
What WIP Actually Looks Like in the Real World
In industries like software development or construction, the working in progress meaning (or rather, the WIP meaning) is tied to specific metrics. It isn't just a vibe. It’s a number.
Take the Kanban method, for example. In Kanban, teams set "WIP limits." This is a hard cap on how many tasks can be in the "Doing" column at once. If your limit is three, and you have three tasks in progress, you cannot start a fourth. You have to finish something first.
This is where the concept gets interesting. Most people think having a lot of "working in progress" items is a sign of being busy and productive. It’s actually the opposite. According to Little’s Law—a principle in queuing theory—the more items you have in progress, the longer each item takes to finish.
The Cost of Context Switching
Every time you flip from one "working in progress" task to another, your brain pays a "tax."
Psychologist Gerald Weinberg once suggested that each additional simultaneous project eats up 20% of your mental capacity. If you have two projects, you lose 20% to context switching. If you have three, you’re losing 40%. By the time you’re "working in progress" on five different things, you’re basically operating at half-mast.
It’s a mess.
Creative Cycles and the "Ugly Middle"
In creative fields, the working in progress meaning takes on a more emotional tone. Author Brené Brown often talks about the "messy middle." This is the point in a project where the initial excitement has evaporated, but the finish line is nowhere in sight.
When an artist says a painting is a work in progress, they are asking for grace. They are saying, "Don't judge this yet."
- It’s incomplete.
- The proportions might be wrong.
- The colors are muddy.
- It looks like a disaster.
But that disaster is necessary. You can’t get to the finished masterpiece without passing through the "working" phase where everything feels broken. This is a crucial distinction. In business, WIP is often seen as a bottleneck to be cleared. In art, it’s a cocoon.
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Common Misconceptions and Malapropisms
I’ve heard people use "working in progress" in some truly bizarre ways. Some think it refers to a person’s career trajectory—"He’s a working in progress." No, he’s a work in progress. Unless he is literally a robot being built while he’s on the clock, the "ing" doesn't belong there.
Then there’s the confusion with "Work in Process."
Are they the same? Kind of.
In accounting, "Work in Process" usually refers to goods that move through the production cycle quickly. "Work in Progress" is more commonly used for long-term projects, like a bridge or a massive software rollout. If you’re in a boardroom and someone uses these interchangeably, don't be the person who corrects them. It’s a nuance that doesn't usually change the bottom line.
How to Talk About Your Progress Without Sounding Silly
If you want to avoid the "working in progress" trap, vary your language. You don't always have to use the idiom.
If a client asks for an update, try these:
- "The project is currently in development."
- "We’re in the middle of the implementation phase."
- "It’s a work in progress, but we’ve hit our first milestone."
- "I’m still refining the final draft."
Notice how none of those sound like a linguistic accident? They are specific. They show ownership. They tell the listener exactly where the "work" stands without the clunky grammar of "working in progress."
The Psychological Burden of Unfinished Business
There is a psychological phenomenon called the Zeigarnik Effect. It suggests that our brains remember uncompleted tasks much better than completed ones. This is why that "working in progress" list on your desk feels like a heavy weight.
Your brain is literally looping the unfinished data in the background, trying to find a resolution.
This is why "Work in Progress" is more than just a label on a folder. It’s a state of mental tension. When you finally move a task to "Done," your brain experiences a literal release of tension. If you have too many things in the "working in progress" category, you’re essentially keeping your brain in a state of perpetual low-level stress.
It’s exhausting. Honestly, it’s one of the leading causes of burnout.
Redefining Success Through WIP
We need to stop praising the "busy" person who has twenty things "working in progress." That person is a bottleneck.
Instead, we should praise the person who finishes one thing before starting the next. In manufacturing, a high WIP count is a liability. It’s "trapped" value. It’s money spent on materials and labor that hasn't been recouped yet.
Think about your own day that way. Every unfinished email, every half-written report, every "working in progress" conversation is trapped value. It’s not doing anyone any good until it’s finished.
Actionable Steps for Managing Your Work in Progress
If you find yourself drowning in things that are "working in progress," you need a tactical exit strategy.
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First, audit your active tasks. Write down everything you are currently "working" on. Everything. If the list is longer than five items, you’re probably lying to yourself about how much you're actually getting done.
Second, implement a "Stop Starting, Start Finishing" rule. This is a mantra in the Agile community. Before you open a new tab, before you start a new project, look at your WIP list. Can any of those be closed out in the next twenty minutes? Do that first.
Third, change your vocabulary. Start using "Work in Progress" correctly. It might feel weird at first if you’ve been saying "working in progress" for years, but it matters. It changes how you view the task. It becomes a noun—a thing that exists—rather than a vague, ongoing action.
Fourth, embrace the "Done is Better Than Perfect" mindset. A lot of things stay in the "working" phase because we’re scared to finish them. Finishing means being judged. Finishing means the "work in progress" can no longer be a shield against criticism. Finish it anyway.
Fifth, use visual cues. If you work in an office, use a physical board. If you’re remote, use a tool like Linear or Monday.com. Seeing the "working in progress" pile up visually is often the only way to realize how much of a logjam you’ve created.
Stop treating "working in progress" as a permanent state of being. It’s a transition. It’s a bridge. You aren't meant to live on the bridge; you’re meant to cross it. Get to the other side.
Final thought: Next time you see a colleague type out "working in progress meaning" or use the phrase in an email, don't be a jerk about it. Just lead by example. Use the right term. Keep your WIP limits low. Focus on the finish line. The clarity you gain will be worth more than any buzzword.