How long should you talk before planning a date?

Look at what she does with your messages. If she answers the question you asked and then adds something of her own, the conversation has life in it. If she replies with a single word or an emoji and nothing to pick up, the chat is still being kept alive by both of you rather than moving on its own. Pay attention to whether she asks you things. A person who is interested tends to ask follow up questions, remember details from earlier, and bring up things you said days ago. Her profile can help too: if she has mentioned specific plans, places she likes, or things she is into, those are concrete hooks for a plan. If the texting is good but thin, one more exchange about something specific is usually enough to tell you whether to move forward. If it is warm but she keeps steering back to the chat and never toward a real thing, that is worth noticing before you ask.

The useful kind of message here is a concrete proposal with a little room in it. It names a place or activity that connects to something she has said, offers a time window, and makes it easy to answer. The job it does is turn talking into a thing you are both going to do. A good draft should be short, should name one or two real options, and should not apologise for asking or hedge with lots of qualifiers. What it should leave out is the explanation for why you want to meet, any long compliment, and any open ended question about what she is up for. Keep the decision small enough that a yes takes her ten seconds. If she has told you she is busy this week, offer the following week rather than pushing for something that clashes with her plans.

Ask in the daytime or early evening, when she is likely to be awake and not winding down. A late night ask can read as a move rather than a plan, and it often gets buried under the next morning's messages. If she does not answer the plan message within a day or two, a short follow up that restates the idea is fine. Something like a simple check in that brings it back to the plan is enough. Send it once. If she still does not respond, or only replies with vague enthusiasm that never turns into a time, stop chasing and let the chat rest. Chasing a third or fourth time tells her more about you than about the date. A clear no or a long silence both answer the question, and the sensible thing is to take it without making it a conversation about why.