The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of time management training in reducing social media addiction and learning anxiety among lower secondary school students. This research employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test measures and a control group. The statistical population consisted of female lower secondary school students in Konarak County (in Iran) during the 2024–2025 academic year. A total of 30 students were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received time management training across ten 45-minute sessions (once per week). All participants were assessed before and after the intervention using the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ), and the Addiction to Mobile Questionnaire Based on Social Networks (AMQ-SN). Analysis of covariance revealed that time management training significantly reduced learning anxiety and social media addiction in the experimental group (P < 0.01). Based on these findings, time management training can be utilized as an effective approach to improve learning anxiety and mitigate social media addiction among students.