Bad news ages badly. Deliver it early while it’s still small.

Problems do not sit still while you decide whether to mention them. They grow, and worse, the delay becomes part of the story, so what started as a mistake turns into a mistake plus a concealment. The person you tell late is often more upset about the timing than about the thing itself.

If there is something you have been sitting on, say it today rather than Friday. Lead with the fact, then with what you are doing about it. It feels awful for roughly ten minutes and then it is smaller than it has been in your head all week.