You should ask (and preferably asynchronously, not by having random long meetings). Spending 7-8 hours working out a solution is however normal (on working with

You should ask (and preferably asynchronously, not by having random long meetings). Spending 7-8 hours working out a solution is however normal (on working with actual complex systems, like during a PhD, you might go a week between meetings but varies according to actual needs). You seem to be describing micromanagement.