How to Show a Loading GIF Immediately While Fetching Data in Appian?

I’m building an interface where the user is asked:

"Do you want to use your previous data?"

If the user selects Yes and clicks the Continue button, I want the following flow:

Show a loading GIF screen immediately).

In the background, fetch the user's previous data using a rule and save it to a local variable.

Once the data is available, automatically transition to a new screen that displays this data.

Problem:
If I try to show the GIF and fetch the data in the same saveInto (e.g. within the button click), the interface waits for the data fetch to complete before updating the UI. As a result, the loading GIF doesn't appear immediately — it only flashes briefly or doesn't show at all.

I am sure we can easily manage it at process model end. but trying to see if anyone has done it at interface level which i can reuse.