> so I normally end up getting my actual work done late at night after an early dinner, which my wife is not particularly happy about. Until that stops, they w

> so I normally end up getting my actual work done late at night after an early dinner, which my wife is not particularly happy about. Until that stops, they won't knock it off. Start telling them exactly what you're doing in those time blocks and how much the meeting will make that slip by. Do not work after hours. If they want to pay you to sit in meeting rooms rather than ship features, that's their choice, but you have to make them choose, or they'll take both. [EDIT] mind, make them choose by communicating. Email (or whatever your management-tier uses to communicate) is your friend. Explicitly call out your expected meeting burden in estimation sessions and politely but firmly alert (send an email/message) when that burden is exceeded. Bring it up in retros. This is especially effective if you have someone up the chain who wants features shipped and who is not the one calling these meetings. Part of their job is to make other people knock off unproductive shit. Give them the info they need to do their job (that you're being scheduled for too many low-value meetings). Your only other alternative is to start delegating, until you're accidentally a "lead" and like 50% of your time is supposed to be meetings, another 25% delegating, with the balance helping other devs getting unstuck.