The phrase "treading water" is commonly used to describe a situation where someone is not making any progress or moving forward in a specific goal or task. To convey the same meaning in different words, one could say "stagnating," "spinning wheels," or "maintaining the status quo." Alternatively, one might use the phrase "procrastinating" to suggest that a person is delaying progress intentionally, or "marking time" to suggest that they are waiting for something to change before moving forward. These synonyms can be useful when seeking to provide more clarity or variety in one's writing or speech.