When you mess up, say what you did before anyone has to chase you for it.

Owning a mistake early changes what the mistake is about. Once somebody has to go looking for the truth, they stop thinking about the error and start wondering what else you would have kept quiet. The broken thing is usually cheap to fix. Being chased costs trust instead, and that one keeps charging you.

Think of the thing you are currently hoping nobody notices. Say it to the person it affects in one plain sentence: here is what happened, here is what I am doing next. The conversation is almost always shorter than the dread was.