diff --git a/src/DirectoryView.cpp b/src/DirectoryView.cpp
index a092287..25417ad 100644
--- a/src/DirectoryView.cpp
+++ b/src/DirectoryView.cpp
@@ -4,12 +4,15 @@
 DirectoryView::~DirectoryView() {}
 
 void DirectoryView::update() {
-    window()->start_batch();
-    target()->clear_children();
-    for (const auto &entry : std::filesystem::directory_iterator(m_current_path)) {
-        auto button = m_target->add<FileButton>(entry.path().filename(), this);
-    }
-    window()->end_batch();
+    // microtasks defer execution of the callback until all external events are processed.
+    // if they're not used here and update() is called in a click or hover handler,
+    // chaos will ensue, as the widget tree will be updated during event propagation
+    window()->queue_microtask([this]() {
+        target()->clear_children();
+        for (const auto &entry : std::filesystem::directory_iterator(m_current_path)) {
+            auto button = m_target->add<FileButton>(entry.path().filename(), this);
+        }
+    });
 }
 
 void DirectoryView::navigate(std::string path) {