like a headless chicken

like a headless chicken (British, American)

if you do something like a headless chicken, you do it very quickly and without thinking carefully about what you are doing. I've got so much work to do - I've been running around like a headless chicken all week. (usually in continuous tenses) He was racing around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to do the work of two people.

See also: chicken, like