diff --git a/planetstack/ec2_observer/event_loop.py b/planetstack/ec2_observer/event_loop.py
index d9855eb..e703869 100644
--- a/planetstack/ec2_observer/event_loop.py
+++ b/planetstack/ec2_observer/event_loop.py
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@
 
 				logger.info('Waiting for event')
 				tBeforeWait = time.time()
-				self.wait_for_event(timeout=30)
+				self.wait_for_event(timeout=5)
 				logger.info('Observer woke up')
 
 				# Two passes. One for sync, the other for deletion.