Disclosed are methods and systems for delaying packet transmissions over a wireless communication channel until a more favorable channel condition is detected. A device may measure a channel metric when it receives periodic beacon signals. The device may compare the channel metric against a programmed metric threshold. If the channel metric is less than the metric threshold, the device may delay the transmission of a packet until a later transmission window or transmit opportunity (TXOP) when the channel metric rises above the metric threshold, indicating the presence of a more favorable condition for transmission, or until a preconfigured timeout period elapses before the more favorable condition is found.