Abstract: When writing data to a magnetic data storage medium, it is detected whether duration, before occurrence of a data transition, of data to be written exceeds a predetermined threshold. When the duration, before the transition, of the data to be written exceeds the predetermined threshold, the data is written by applying an initial pulse and then maintaining, until a shut-off pulse, a steady-state write current having an amplitude less than the initial pulse. A shut-off adjustment is determined based on a predetermined delay. The shut-off pulse is initiated at a time based on one bit period prior to the transition, adjusted by the shut-off adjustment. When the duration, before the transition, of the data to be written is at most equal to the predetermined threshold, the data is written by applying the initial pulse without applying a steady-state write current before the transition.