diff --git a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/e2e_block_building.test.ts b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/e2e_block_building.test.ts
index 4385c888c12..6a2ed021376 100644
--- a/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/e2e_block_building.test.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/end-to-end/src/e2e_block_building.test.ts
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ describe('e2e_block_building', () => {
       logger.info(`Updating aztec node config`);
       await aztecNode.setConfig({ minTxsPerBlock: 1, maxTxsPerBlock: TX_COUNT, enforceTimeTable: true });
 
-      // We tweak the sequencer so it uses a fake simulator that adds a 200ms delay to every public tx.
+      // We tweak the sequencer so it uses a fake simulator that adds a delay to every public tx.
       const archiver = (aztecNode as AztecNodeService).getContractDataSource();
       sequencer.sequencer.publicProcessorFactory = new TestPublicProcessorFactory(
         archiver,
@@ -202,11 +202,13 @@ describe('e2e_block_building', () => {
       );
 
       // We also cheat the sequencer's timetable so it allocates little time to processing.
-      // This will leave the sequencer with just 2s to build the block, so it shouldn't be
-      // able to squeeze in more than 10 txs in each. This is sensitive to the time it takes
-      // to pick up and validate the txs, so we may need to bump it to work on CI.
-      sequencer.sequencer.timeTable[SequencerState.WAITING_FOR_TXS] = 2;
-      sequencer.sequencer.timeTable[SequencerState.CREATING_BLOCK] = 2;
+      // This will leave the sequencer with just a few seconds to build the block, so it shouldn't
+      // be able to squeeze in more than ~12 txs in each. This is sensitive to the time it takes
+      // to pick up and validate the txs, so we may need to bump it to work on CI. Note that we need
+      // at least 3s here so the archiver has time to loop once and sync, and the sequencer has at
+      // least 1s to loop.
+      sequencer.sequencer.timeTable[SequencerState.WAITING_FOR_TXS] = 4;
+      sequencer.sequencer.timeTable[SequencerState.CREATING_BLOCK] = 4;
       sequencer.sequencer.processTxTime = 1;
 
       // Flood the mempool with TX_COUNT simultaneous txs
@@ -615,9 +617,11 @@ type TestSequencer = Omit<Sequencer, 'publicProcessorFactory' | 'timeTable'> & {
 };
 type TestSequencerClient = Omit<SequencerClient, 'sequencer'> & { sequencer: TestSequencer };
 
+const TEST_PUBLIC_TX_SIMULATION_DELAY_MS = 300;
+
 class TestPublicTxSimulator extends PublicTxSimulator {
   public override async simulate(tx: Tx): Promise<PublicTxResult> {
-    await sleep(200);
+    await sleep(TEST_PUBLIC_TX_SIMULATION_DELAY_MS);
     return super.simulate(tx);
   }
 }
diff --git a/yarn-project/sequencer-client/src/sequencer/sequencer.test.ts b/yarn-project/sequencer-client/src/sequencer/sequencer.test.ts
index b1a02401450..f45e80ed260 100644
--- a/yarn-project/sequencer-client/src/sequencer/sequencer.test.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/sequencer-client/src/sequencer/sequencer.test.ts
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ describe('sequencer', () => {
     await expect(sequencer.doRealWork()).rejects.toThrow(
       expect.objectContaining({
         name: 'SequencerTooSlowError',
-        message: expect.stringContaining(`Too far into slot to transition to ${delayedState}.`),
+        message: expect.stringContaining(`Too far into slot to transition to ${delayedState}`),
       }),
     );
 
diff --git a/yarn-project/sequencer-client/src/sequencer/sequencer.ts b/yarn-project/sequencer-client/src/sequencer/sequencer.ts
index 9f758c456cc..cedd98abfcf 100644
--- a/yarn-project/sequencer-client/src/sequencer/sequencer.ts
+++ b/yarn-project/sequencer-client/src/sequencer/sequencer.ts
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ export class SequencerTooSlowError extends Error {
     public readonly currentTime: number,
   ) {
     super(
-      `Too far into slot to transition to ${proposedState}. max allowed: ${maxAllowedTime}s, time into slot: ${currentTime}s`,
+      `Too far into slot to transition to ${proposedState} (max allowed: ${maxAllowedTime}s, time into slot: ${currentTime}s)`,
     );
     this.name = 'SequencerTooSlowError';
   }
@@ -172,10 +172,10 @@ export class Sequencer {
 
   private setTimeTable() {
     // How late into the slot can we be to start working
-    const initialTime = 1;
+    const initialTime = 2;
 
     // How long it takes to validate the txs collected and get ready to start building
-    const blockPrepareTime = 2;
+    const blockPrepareTime = 1;
 
     // How long it takes to for attestations to travel across the p2p layer.
     const attestationPropagationTime = 2;
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@ export class Sequencer {
     const bufferSeconds = maxAllowedTime - secondsIntoSlot;
 
     if (bufferSeconds < 0) {
-      this.log.warn(`Too far into slot to transition to ${proposedState}`, { maxAllowedTime, secondsIntoSlot });
+      this.log.debug(`Too far into slot to transition to ${proposedState}`, { maxAllowedTime, secondsIntoSlot });
       return false;
     }