“I messed up, here’s what I already did about it” is the best sentence you can bring to a boss.

Bosses are not mainly collecting apologies, they are working out how much of their day this just took. A problem that arrives with a step already taken answers that question before they have to ask. It also tells them something no amount of being careful can: that when things go sideways, you move toward them rather than away.

The next time you get something wrong at work, do one useful thing first, even a small one, then report both parts in that order. If nothing can be done yet, say what you plan to do and when. Save the story of how it happened for afterward, if they ask.