I have recently started my first job after grad school. The size of my team is around 20. My manager is great. I meet (as quick meetings) most of my teammates at least once in a day to discuss what is happening at my end (project) and they are very helpful. Overall, I am enjoying at this place. However, there are some formal meetings every week and they consume almost 4 to 5 hours per week. I feel that they are becoming obstacles to the progress of the project. I think that it would be good if we organize these meetings once in two weeks instead of every week.
As a new member of the team, I am a bit hesitant to talk with my manager about this. My question is: what is an effective way to approach my manager about this?