diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-citations.yml b/.github/workflows/update-citations.yml
index 8a2428d..80d51ba 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update-citations.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update-citations.yml
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ jobs:
           set +e
           echo "🚀 Running citation update script (single attempt)..."
           start_time=$(date)
-          timeout 90 python bin/update_scholar_citations.py
+          timeout 300 python bin/update_scholar_citations.py
           status=$?
           end_time=$(date)
           if [ $status -eq 0 ]; then
@@ -93,6 +93,10 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Commit and push if changed
         run: |
+          if [ ! -f _data/citations.yml ]; then
+            echo "ℹ️ No citations.yml file to commit."
+            exit 0
+          fi
           git add _data/citations.yml
           git diff --staged --quiet || (
             echo "📤 Committing and pushing changes..."
diff --git a/bin/update_scholar_citations.py b/bin/update_scholar_citations.py
index 1c4f57c..f229587 100644
--- a/bin/update_scholar_citations.py
+++ b/bin/update_scholar_citations.py
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ def get_scholar_citations() -> None:
     today = datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
 
     # Check if the output file was already updated today
+    existing_data = None
     if os.path.exists(OUTPUT_FILE):
         try:
             with open(OUTPUT_FILE, "r") as f:
@@ -62,7 +63,7 @@ def get_scholar_citations() -> None:
 
     citation_data = {"metadata": {"last_updated": today}, "papers": {}}
 
-    scholarly.set_timeout(15)
+    scholarly.set_timeout(30)
     scholarly.set_retries(3)
     try:
         author = scholarly.search_author_id(SCHOLAR_USER_ID)