diff --git a/routing/missioncontrol_store.go b/routing/missioncontrol_store.go
index cfe0a2cf0..975380af6 100644
--- a/routing/missioncontrol_store.go
+++ b/routing/missioncontrol_store.go
@@ -38,12 +38,15 @@ const (
 // Also changes to mission control parameters can be applied to historical data.
 // Finally, it enables importing raw data from an external source.
 type missionControlStore struct {
-	done    chan struct{}
-	wg      sync.WaitGroup
-	db      kvdb.Backend
-	queueMx sync.Mutex
+	done chan struct{}
+	wg   sync.WaitGroup
+	db   kvdb.Backend
+
+	// queueCond is signalled when items are put into the queue.
+	queueCond *sync.Cond
 
 	// queue stores all pending payment results not yet added to the store.
+	// Access is protected by the queueCond.L mutex.
 	queue *list.List
 
 	// keys holds the stored MC store item keys in the order of storage.
@@ -101,6 +104,7 @@ func newMissionControlStore(db kvdb.Backend, maxRecords int,
 	return &missionControlStore{
 		done:          make(chan struct{}),
 		db:            db,
+		queueCond:     sync.NewCond(&sync.Mutex{}),
 		queue:         list.New(),
 		keys:          keys,
 		keysMap:       keysMap,
@@ -111,8 +115,8 @@ func newMissionControlStore(db kvdb.Backend, maxRecords int,
 
 // clear removes all results from the db.
 func (b *missionControlStore) clear() error {
-	b.queueMx.Lock()
-	defer b.queueMx.Unlock()
+	b.queueCond.L.Lock()
+	defer b.queueCond.L.Unlock()
 
 	err := kvdb.Update(b.db, func(tx kvdb.RwTx) error {
 		if err := tx.DeleteTopLevelBucket(resultsKey); err != nil {
@@ -267,14 +271,19 @@ func deserializeResult(k, v []byte) (*paymentResult, error) {
 
 // AddResult adds a new result to the db.
 func (b *missionControlStore) AddResult(rp *paymentResult) {
-	b.queueMx.Lock()
-	defer b.queueMx.Unlock()
+	b.queueCond.L.Lock()
 	b.queue.PushBack(rp)
+	b.queueCond.L.Unlock()
+
+	b.queueCond.Signal()
 }
 
 // stop stops the store ticker goroutine.
 func (b *missionControlStore) stop() {
 	close(b.done)
+
+	b.queueCond.Signal()
+
 	b.wg.Wait()
 }
 
@@ -283,19 +292,51 @@ func (b *missionControlStore) run() {
 	b.wg.Add(1)
 
 	go func() {
-		ticker := time.NewTicker(b.flushInterval)
-		defer ticker.Stop()
 		defer b.wg.Done()
 
+		timer := time.NewTimer(b.flushInterval)
+
+		// Immediately stop the timer. It will be started once new
+		// items are added to the store. As the doc for time.Timer
+		// states, every call to Stop() done on a timer that is not
+		// known to have been fired needs to be checked and the timer's
+		// channel needs to be drained appropriately. This could happen
+		// if the flushInterval is very small (e.g. 1 nanosecond).
+		if !timer.Stop() {
+			<-timer.C
+		}
+
 		for {
+			// Wait for the queue to not be empty.
+			b.queueCond.L.Lock()
+			for b.queue.Front() == nil {
+				b.queueCond.Wait()
+
+				select {
+				case <-b.done:
+					b.queueCond.L.Unlock()
+
+					return
+				default:
+				}
+			}
+			b.queueCond.L.Unlock()
+
+			// Restart the timer.
+			timer.Reset(b.flushInterval)
+
 			select {
-			case <-ticker.C:
+			case <-timer.C:
 				if err := b.storeResults(); err != nil {
 					log.Errorf("Failed to update mission "+
 						"control store: %v", err)
 				}
 
 			case <-b.done:
+				// Release the timer's resources.
+				if !timer.Stop() {
+					<-timer.C
+				}
 				return
 			}
 		}
@@ -306,16 +347,16 @@ func (b *missionControlStore) run() {
 func (b *missionControlStore) storeResults() error {
 	// We copy a reference to the queue and clear the original queue to be
 	// able to release the lock.
-	b.queueMx.Lock()
+	b.queueCond.L.Lock()
 	l := b.queue
 
 	if l.Len() == 0 {
-		b.queueMx.Unlock()
+		b.queueCond.L.Unlock()
 
 		return nil
 	}
 	b.queue = list.New()
-	b.queueMx.Unlock()
+	b.queueCond.L.Unlock()
 
 	var (
 		keys       *list.List