diff --git a/src/job/mod.rs b/src/job/mod.rs
index 63617c2..6afc82f 100644
--- a/src/job/mod.rs
+++ b/src/job/mod.rs
@@ -80,6 +80,18 @@ impl TimeIntervalTracker {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Check if the bucket for the given timestamp is already full.
+    /// This is a non-mutating check used to skip processing early.
+    pub fn is_full(&self, timestamp: &str) -> bool {
+        let key = self.bucket_key(timestamp);
+        let buckets = self.buckets.read().unwrap();
+        if let Some(counter) = buckets.get(&key) {
+            counter.load(Ordering::SeqCst) >= self.max_photos
+        } else {
+            false
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Compute the bucket key from a timestamp string.
     fn bucket_key(&self, timestamp: &str) -> String {
         // Parse date from ISO 8601 timestamp (e.g. "2024-01-15" or "2024-01-15T12:34:56Z")
diff --git a/src/job/processing.rs b/src/job/processing.rs
index 51cd93e..98f7572 100644
--- a/src/job/processing.rs
+++ b/src/job/processing.rs
@@ -85,6 +85,18 @@ pub async fn process_single_asset(
     // Create pipeline context
     let mut ctx = PipelineContext::new(asset_id.clone(), timestamp.clone(), face_data.clone());
 
+    // Early check: skip if the time slot is already full (avoids wasting processing time)
+    if let Some(tracker) = time_interval {
+        if tracker.is_full(&timestamp) {
+            tracing::debug!("Asset {} skipped early: time slot already full (timestamp: {})", asset_id, timestamp);
+            skip_stats.increment("time_interval");
+            return AssetProcessResult::Skipped {
+                asset_id: asset_id.clone(),
+                reason: "Time interval too short".to_string(),
+            };
+        }
+    }
+
     // Check before download (potentially slow)
     if cancel_token.is_cancelled() {
         return AssetProcessResult::Cancelled {