Your first excuse often shows up before you even know what happened. Notice that reflex.

The reflex is faster than your thinking, which is why it arrives already formed. Something goes wrong and a sentence appears, aimed at getting you out, before you have had time to look at the situation at all. That speed is a clue that the sentence was built to protect you rather than to describe anything.

Catch the first one this week and let it go unsaid. Then look at what actually happened for thirty seconds before you speak. The second sentence you come up with is nearly always more accurate and more useful.