diff --git a/backend.c b/backend.c
index 35f522e597..45d18107ca 100644
--- a/backend.c
+++ b/backend.c
@@ -1155,6 +1155,9 @@ static void do_io(struct thread_data *td, uint64_t *bytes_done)
 	unsigned int i;
 	int ret = 0;
 	uint64_t total_bytes, bytes_issued = 0;
+	struct timespec comp_time;
+
+	fio_gettime(&comp_time, NULL);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < DDIR_RWDIR_CNT; i++)
 		bytes_done[i] = td->bytes_done[i];
@@ -1197,7 +1200,6 @@ static void do_io(struct thread_data *td, uint64_t *bytes_done)
 	while ((td->o.read_iolog_file && !flist_empty(&td->io_log_list)) ||
 		(!flist_empty(&td->trim_list)) || !io_issue_bytes_exceeded(td) ||
 		td->o.time_based) {
-		struct timespec comp_time;
 		struct io_u *io_u;
 		int full;
 		enum fio_ddir ddir;