Ask an expert is our weekly column dedicated to helping readers overcome problems at work and get ahead in their careers. This week, Amantha Imber, founder of behaviour change firm Inventium, helps a reader claw back precious time from unproductive meetings.

The problem: I typically spend two hours a day on Zoom meetings that I often contribute very little to. On the few occasions I’ve asked to skip them, my manager has said it would be a shame if I didn’t join because I would no longer be in the loop on certain topics. But I think my time would be better spent on actually doing the work we need to get done to meet our project deadlines.