Take a few afternoons off for life admin

If you're taking annual leave, then it is entirely up to you how you use it. It is your time and no-one has a say over it or can judge how you use it. Why would you even need an opinion on that.

However, as you hinted (and then withdrew the hint) that you might be taking it as sick leave, then I can see why you would ask questions as to the moral integrity of your plan.

I don't know why you would say "you caught me" when someone guessed that you were planning on taking sick leave-a bit odd and not witty or amusing-but if you were thinking of that, then your plan would be wrong.

It would be wrong because you are asking your employer to pay you for doing your own work, rather than them paying you to do their work-which is the usual way of things.

It would be wrong because you would be asking your colleagues to do your work, while you do your own work.

You would be stealing time and money from your employer and your team.

However, as you have now said that it will be on your own dollar, then crack on. That is your right and what you do with your own time is your business and your business alone.

@Davidpuddyy i took 2.5 days off during Easter a total of 5.5 days since the start of the year.

Why would that be lazy? We're through about 1/3 of the year, so 5.5 days leave in 1/3 of the year should work out as 16.5 days throughout the whole year... I imagine you have more holidays than that, so if anything, you've taken less holidays than what would be expected.

In all honesty @Davidpuddyy people like you who take sick leave or dont work when they're supposed to contribute to massive under production that affects each abd everyone of us as escalated costs.

Take time off properly - if it's just a couple of hours, cut your lunch break down and work longer hours - either start early or finish late - agree this with your manager. Life admin is not a good enough excuse to swing the lead pretending to be ill or just being evasive and no answering emails etc. Grow up and be an adult!

And?

As long as you and your boss are fine, it doesn't matter whether it irritates anyone else. It's your leave and your life.

Seems reasonable to me, get things done, stop worrying about them. I have taken time off for all sorts so I don't have to rush back from appointments/try and make up time/ enjoy knowing something was done properly and not just fitted in.

Why? Why not just take the 4 half days if they want to and their work allows?

People Take leave to do lots of stuff - there isn’t a rule book.

why do you think this is an issue. Do you set rules for yourself that you find hard to break? To you have a controlling partner whose approval you require? Are you very young and is this your first job?

I don't know how anyone could interpret this as being lazy. Your entitled to annual leave, take it for whatever reason you like. I wouldn't even think someone lazy if the took their leave to binge watch Netflix. I'm not sure what business it is of anyone else. Unless someone is going on a holiday, me and my colleagues wouldn't really talk about what we were taking leave for.

Unavailable sometimes. If your work allows half days, then take them!

Take 2 afternoons off for the biggest jobs and do the rest in lunch breaks and finish off by email.

or can work let you leave 1-2 hours early and make up the time / use TOIL?

That's up to your manager to, um, manage. Ask for whatever leave you want. If they don't like it, they will tell you so. Everybody's circumstances will be different. What a strange thing to start a thread about.

Life admin is a pretty widely used phrase, I haven't googled but I'd think it's probably explained in online dictionary type websites

Yeah, I guess workplace culture factors into this. I've worked at one place where I don't think they'd have liked it. Everywhere else they've not really cared when people took their leave, though, as long as sufficient notice was given. Hopefully workplaces are getting a bit more relaxed about this sort of thing.

Can't understand why anybody would need to ask this, it's standard use of annual leave.

You’re not being lazy and you don’t need to justify it. Use one afternoon to watch telly in bed if you feel like it!

In my case I’m selling a house which was left partly to me in a will but needs selling as the other beneficiaries want the cash, I’ve had a lot of meetings with solicitors (scheduled in during my lunch breaks or after work mostly) and then sorting out an estate agent - luckily the solicitor has done most of the work from then on in but I had to be at the house to meet the various estate agents and unfortunately it’s 2 hours away from me so not something that could be done in my lunch hour. I took the time that day to really maximise all the stuff that needed doing while I was there and met the solicitor for an in person meeting but yes I’ve had to take actual leave for it.
Most other personal admin stuff I can do in my lunch breaks or in the evenings and I try and save my leave for mostly fun stuff because I still have a dc at school and there are looooong holidays to fill but there are times where I have to accept that leave needs to be used for boring but essential things. It sucks really!

No, you're not being lazy, you're trying to make sure things are done correctly, very important when buying a house. And it's your annual leave, you can spend it how you like.

All of the admin tasks to do with home (bills, children, the pets etc etc.) that are a chore when working full time too. OP is going through a house purchase, so there’s additional admin to get through right now.

If it's annual leave what's the issue? And why say "you caught me"?

Why half days? Why not take 2/3 full days? I think that’s less disruptive.

What the hell is life admin. work?

So what? It’s your annual leave. Take it however you want. This is such a non-dilemma.

I do this quite frequently. I thought most people do? I also often take the day off when the kids first go back to school at the start of term. I spend the day either on the sofa watching Netflix or doing something nice like going to a spa.

So what? You can't live your life trying to please others.