How long is a fair break in an argument if I can't relax until we finish it?

My partner put his mug down and said, "I need to stop this conversation for tonight." We were disagreeing about how often his friends come over. Neither of us was shouting, but we'd repeated the same points three times.

I followed him into the hallway and asked for five more minutes. He said that was exactly what he meant: whenever he asks to stop, I try to keep him there. I thought five minutes would let us find an ending. Instead, we went to bed annoyed, and he left for work before we spoke.

He wants to pick things up the next evening. I spend that gap rehearsing what I should have said, and it feels awful to act normally while something is unresolved. But I can see that my urgency doesn't make him ready to talk.

What could we agree before the next disagreement? I want him to be able to take a break, and I need some confidence that "later" won't become a conversation we never have.