diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 02fdd3f..ca49fe6 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 runwhenidle
 package-build/
+*.o
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 7494f14..2710777 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ CC=gcc
 ifeq ($(PREFIX),)
     PREFIX := /usr
 endif
+SOURCES = sleep_utils.c main.c
+OBJECTS = $(SOURCES:.c=.o)
 
 all: executable
 
@@ -13,15 +15,18 @@ release: executable
 debug: CCFLAGS += -DDEBUG -ggdb
 debug: executable
 
-executable:
-	$(CC) main.c -o $(TARGET_EXEC) $(CCFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS) $(LDLIBS)
+%.o: %.c
+	$(CC) $(CCFLAGS) -c $< -o $@ $(LDFLAGS) $(LDLIBS)
+
+executable: $(OBJECTS)
+	$(CC) $(CCFLAGS) $(OBJECTS) -o $(TARGET_EXEC) $(LDFLAGS) $(LDLIBS)
 
 install: release
 	install -d $(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)/bin/
 	install -m 755 $(TARGET_EXEC) $(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)/bin/
 
 clean:
-	rm -f runwhenidle
+	rm -f $(OBJECTS) $(TARGET_EXEC)
 
 debian-package:
 	docker build --build-arg HOST_UID=`id -u` --tag runwhenidle-ubuntu2204-build distro-packages/ubuntu22.04
diff --git a/main.c b/main.c
index 83628bc..47a7b5e 100644
--- a/main.c
+++ b/main.c
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 #include <X11/extensions/scrnsaver.h>
 #include <getopt.h>
 
+#include "sleep_utils.h"
+
 int verbose;
 int quiet;
 
@@ -68,6 +70,17 @@ pid_t run_shell_command(const char *shell_command_to_run, pid_t pid) {
     return pid;
 }
 
+void exit_if_pid_has_finished(pid_t pid) {
+    int status;
+    if (waitpid(pid, &status, WNOHANG + WUNTRACED) == pid && WIFEXITED(status)) {
+        int exit_code = WEXITSTATUS(status);
+        if (verbose) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "PID %i has finished with exit code %u\n", pid, exit_code);
+        }
+        exit(exit_code);
+    }
+}
+
 int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     pid_t pid;
     int user_idle_timeout_ms = 300000;
@@ -120,14 +133,23 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 
     pid = run_shell_command(argv[optind], pid);
 
+    // Let command run for 300ms to give it a chance to error-out or provide initial output.
+    // 300ms is chosen to avoid giving user a noticeable delay while giving most quick commands a chance to finish.
+    sleep_for_milliseconds(300);
+
     int polling_interval_seconds = 1;
     int sleep_time_seconds = polling_interval_seconds;
     int command_paused = 0;
+
     // Monitor user activity
     while (1) {
-        sleep(sleep_time_seconds);
         XScreenSaverQueryInfo(dpy, DefaultRootWindow(dpy), info);
 
+        // Checking this after querying the screensaver timer so that the command is still running while
+        // we're querying the screensaver and has a chance to do some work and finish,
+        // but before potentially pausing the command to avoid trying to pause it if it completed.
+        exit_if_pid_has_finished(pid);
+
         if (info->idle > user_idle_timeout_ms) {
             // User is inactive
             if (command_paused) {
@@ -159,15 +181,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                         sleep_time_seconds);
             }
         }
-
-        // Check if the command has finished
-        int status;
-        if (waitpid(pid, &status, WNOHANG + WUNTRACED) == pid && WIFEXITED(status)) {
-            int exit_code = WEXITSTATUS(status);
-            if (verbose) {
-                fprintf(stderr, "Command has finished with exit code %u\n", exit_code);
-            }
-            return exit_code;
-        }
+        sleep(sleep_time_seconds);
     }
 }
diff --git a/sleep_utils.c b/sleep_utils.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3d6b7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sleep_utils.c
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#include <time.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+
+int sleep_for_milliseconds(long milliseconds)
+{
+    struct timespec ts;
+
+    if (milliseconds < 0)
+    {
+        errno = EINVAL;
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    ts.tv_sec = milliseconds / 1000;
+    ts.tv_nsec = (milliseconds % 1000) * 1000000;
+
+    //We don't care about sleeping for exact amount in case sleep is interrupted by a signal,
+    //which is why NULL is used for the second argument
+    return nanosleep(&ts, NULL);
+}
diff --git a/sleep_utils.h b/sleep_utils.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4eeaf59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sleep_utils.h
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#ifndef SLEEP_UTILS_H
+#define SLEEP_UTILS_H
+
+#include <time.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+
+/**
+ * Sleeps for the specified number of milliseconds unless interrupted by a signal.
+ *
+ * @param milliseconds The number of milliseconds to sleep.
+ * @return 0 on success, -1 on failure or being interrupted by a signal (sets errno to EINVAL if milliseconds is negative).
+ */
+int sleep_for_milliseconds(long milliseconds);
+
+#endif /* SLEEP_UTILS_H */