diff --git a/src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts b/src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts
index 9e3a76f5aa..0b9645d0a0 100644
--- a/src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts
+++ b/src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts
@@ -1166,9 +1166,12 @@ export class ClineProvider
 			await this.initClineWithHistoryItem(historyItem) // Clears existing task.
 		}
 
-		await this.postMessageToWebview({ type: "action", action: "chatButtonClicked" })
-		// Focus the input after loading the task
-		await this.postMessageToWebview({ type: "action", action: "focusInput" })
+		// Combine both actions into a single message to avoid race condition
+		await this.postMessageToWebview({
+			type: "action",
+			action: "chatButtonClicked",
+			followUpAction: "focusInput",
+		})
 	}
 
 	async exportTaskWithId(id: string) {
diff --git a/src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts b/src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts
index e8ba3c112e..fb80c6ced8 100644
--- a/src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts
+++ b/src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts
@@ -434,7 +434,11 @@ export const webviewMessageHandler = async (
 			}
 			break
 		case "showTaskWithId":
-			provider.showTaskWithId(message.text!)
+			await provider.showTaskWithId(message.text!)
+			// Handle any follow-up action if specified
+			if (message.followUpAction) {
+				await provider.postMessageToWebview({ type: "action", action: message.followUpAction })
+			}
 			break
 		case "condenseTaskContextRequest":
 			provider.condenseTaskContext(message.text!)
diff --git a/src/shared/ExtensionMessage.ts b/src/shared/ExtensionMessage.ts
index 000762e317..a848fe509c 100644
--- a/src/shared/ExtensionMessage.ts
+++ b/src/shared/ExtensionMessage.ts
@@ -122,6 +122,8 @@ export interface ExtensionMessage {
 		| "didBecomeVisible"
 		| "focusInput"
 		| "switchTab"
+		| string // Allow any string for flexibility
+	followUpAction?: string // For follow-up actions after main message handling
 	invoke?: "newChat" | "sendMessage" | "primaryButtonClick" | "secondaryButtonClick" | "setChatBoxMessage"
 	state?: ExtensionState
 	images?: string[]
diff --git a/src/shared/WebviewMessage.ts b/src/shared/WebviewMessage.ts
index 795e276522..2552150ff2 100644
--- a/src/shared/WebviewMessage.ts
+++ b/src/shared/WebviewMessage.ts
@@ -244,6 +244,7 @@ export interface WebviewMessage {
 	visibility?: ShareVisibility // For share visibility
 	hasContent?: boolean // For checkRulesDirectoryResult
 	checkOnly?: boolean // For deleteCustomMode check
+	followUpAction?: string // For follow-up actions after main message handling
 	codeIndexSettings?: {
 		// Global state settings
 		codebaseIndexEnabled: boolean
diff --git a/webview-ui/src/components/chat/ChatView.tsx b/webview-ui/src/components/chat/ChatView.tsx
index cc24faeb4f..b89a1fdc2e 100644
--- a/webview-ui/src/components/chat/ChatView.tsx
+++ b/webview-ui/src/components/chat/ChatView.tsx
@@ -596,10 +596,8 @@ const ChatViewComponent: React.ForwardRefRenderFunction<ChatViewRef, ChatViewPro
 
 	const startNewTask = useCallback(() => {
 		vscode.postMessage({ type: "clearTask" })
-		// Focus the textarea after starting a new task
-		setTimeout(() => {
-			textAreaRef.current?.focus()
-		}, 100)
+		// Focus the textarea directly after starting a new task
+		textAreaRef.current?.focus()
 	}, [])
 
 	// This logic depends on the useEffect[messages] above to set clineAsk,