diff --git a/upstairs/src/upstairs.rs b/upstairs/src/upstairs.rs
index ac0aac6c8..c4cec8234 100644
--- a/upstairs/src/upstairs.rs
+++ b/upstairs/src/upstairs.rs
@@ -688,7 +688,7 @@ impl Upstairs {
         // (especially during debug builds), and we don't want to set our flush
         // deadline such that it fires immediately.
         if has_jobs {
-            self.flush_deadline = deadline_secs(self.flush_timeout_secs);
+            self.flush_deadline = Instant::now() + self.flush_interval;
         }
     }