diff --git a/src/mind/mod.rs b/src/mind/mod.rs
index 9bf9677..e40b1fd 100644
--- a/src/mind/mod.rs
+++ b/src/mind/mod.rs
@@ -56,9 +56,9 @@ fn load_memory_scores(section: &mut ContextSection, path: &std::path::Path) {
     }
 }
 
-/// Save all memory scores to disk.
-fn save_memory_scores(section: &ContextSection, path: &std::path::Path) {
-    let scores: std::collections::BTreeMap<String, f64> = section.entries().iter()
+/// Collect scored memory keys from conversation entries.
+fn collect_memory_scores(section: &ContextSection) -> std::collections::BTreeMap<String, f64> {
+    section.entries().iter()
         .filter_map(|ce| {
             if let ConversationEntry::Memory { key, score: Some(s), .. } = &ce.entry {
                 Some((key.clone(), *s))
@@ -66,8 +66,12 @@ fn save_memory_scores(section: &ContextSection, path: &std::path::Path) {
                 None
             }
         })
-        .collect();
-    if let Ok(json) = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&scores) {
+        .collect()
+}
+
+/// Save memory scores to disk.
+fn save_memory_scores(scores: &std::collections::BTreeMap<String, f64>, path: &std::path::Path) {
+    if let Ok(json) = serde_json::to_string_pretty(scores) {
         let _ = std::fs::write(path, json);
         dbglog!("[scoring] saved {} scores to {}", scores.len(), path.display());
     }
@@ -402,16 +406,21 @@ impl Mind {
                     let agent = agent.clone();
                     let path = scores_path.clone();
                     async move {
-                        let mut ag = agent.lock().await;
-                        for i in 0..ag.context.conversation.len() {
-                            if let ConversationEntry::Memory { key: k, .. } = &ag.context.conversation.entries()[i].entry {
-                                if *k == key {
-                                    ag.context.conversation.set_score(i, Some(score));
+                        let scores_snapshot = {
+                            let mut ag = agent.lock().await;
+                            for i in 0..ag.context.conversation.len() {
+                                if let ConversationEntry::Memory { key: k, .. } = &ag.context.conversation.entries()[i].entry {
+                                    if *k == key {
+                                        ag.context.conversation.set_score(i, Some(score));
+                                    }
                                 }
                             }
-                        }
-                        save_memory_scores(&ag.context.conversation, &path);
-                        ag.changed.notify_one();
+                            ag.changed.notify_one();
+                            // Snapshot scores while we have the lock
+                            collect_memory_scores(&ag.context.conversation)
+                        };
+                        // Write to disk after releasing the lock
+                        save_memory_scores(&scores_snapshot, &path);
                     }
                 },
             ).await;