I get timeouts when loading the FTP directory.

This can happen if a) the directory to be loaded is very large and b) the FTPFTP File Transfer Protocol-connection between your WordPress hosting and the target server is sluggish. You have various options for a solution:

• Enter a more precise FTP directory when connecting. Not only ftp://example.com but e.g. ftp://example.com/mydirectory/ to load only this.
• Switch to another protocol for loading the files.