How to drink more water every day, without forcing it

The easiest way to drink more water is to stop relying on memory. Keep a glass where your hands already are, tie it to moments that happen anyway, like the kettle boiling, and keep a rough count. Do those three things and you'll drink more water every day without having to think about it much.

Most of us already mean to. Then it's 4pm, the glass on your desk is still full from this morning, and you've had three cups of coffee.

That's rarely a willpower problem. Water just has no natural moment in the day, so nothing nudges you. The ideas below give it some.

Start with a small goal you'll actually keep

Big targets can turn a habit into a chore. If you drink one glass a day now, jumping to eight tomorrow is a lot. Add one or two extra glasses at set moments first, and keep them going for a couple of weeks before you add more.

Count in something you can picture, too. "Two glasses before lunch" or "one full bottle by the time I leave work" is far easier to hold in your head than a number of millilitres.

Keep water where your hands already are

The most useful trick of all is to make water the easiest drink within reach.

• Keep a filled glass or bottle on your desk, your bedside table and the kitchen counter.
• Choose a bottle or cup you like holding. It sounds small, but people tend to reach more often for something they enjoy using.
• Carry one in your bag when you go out, so you're not relying on buying a drink.
• Fill tomorrow's bottle the night before and put it in the fridge, or next to your keys.

If you have to get up, find a glass and fill it, you'll often skip it. If it's already in front of you, you'll usually drink.

How to remember to drink water: link it to what you already do

Water doesn't have its own moment in the day, so borrow some. This is habit stacking: tying a new habit to something you already do.

• After I turn off my alarm, I drink the glass on my bedside table.
• While the kettle boils, I drink a glass of water.
• When I sit down at my desk, I take the first few sips from my bottle.
• With every meal, there's a glass of water on the table.
• When I get home, I fill a glass before I do anything else.
• After I brush my teeth at night, I refill the bedside glass for the morning.

A handful of moments like these add up across the day, and none of them asks you to remember anything new. That first glass by the bed also makes a gentle opening step for a simple morning routine you can actually keep.

Make it something you want to drink

Plain water isn't everyone's favourite. A few easy ways to make it more appealing:

• Add a slice of lemon, lime or cucumber, or a few mint leaves.
• Keep a jug in the fridge if you like it cold, or drink it warm if you prefer.
• Try sparkling water if still water feels dull.
• Make a pot of herbal tea and let it cool.
• Remember that food brings water too: fruit like watermelon and oranges, cucumber, and soups all add to what you take in.

Let your surroundings do the reminding

Reminders don't have to be alarms. A bottle with time markings on the side nudges you quietly every time you glance at it. A glass left beside the kettle catches you the next time you make a drink.

Some people keep a few hair ties on their bottle and move one across each time they refill it.

If you want a phone reminder, keep it to one or two a day at moments that make sense, like mid morning and mid afternoon. A reminder every hour soon becomes noise you swipe away without reading.

Plan for the days that break the habit

Most water habits slip on the same kinds of days. It's worth thinking about yours now, while nothing's going wrong:

• Travel: carry an empty bottle through airport security and fill it once you're through.
• Busy workdays: put the bottle in front of your keyboard, not off to the side.
• Hot days out: take more than you think you'll need. It's easy to lose track in the sun.
• Weekends: link it to your weekend anchors, like your first coffee or lunch.

Track it without counting every sip

Tracking shows you whether the habit is holding. It doesn't need to be precise. Any of these will do:

• Tick a box each time you finish a bottle, on a calendar or a free printable habit tracker.
• Make tally marks on a sticky note on the fridge.
• Use a habit tracker with a counter, so each glass is one tap.

In Planted Habits, "Drink water" is one of the ready-made habits, and there are counted versions too, like "Drink 4 glasses" and "Drink 8 glasses". You can also set any habit to count a number each day, choose your own goal and unit, and add one with a tap each time.

The habit's plant grows on each day you reach your goal. Pick the number that suits you, not ours.

How to drink more water this week: a simple plan

1. Choose two moments in your day to link a glass of water to.
2. Put a glass or bottle where those moments happen.
3. Fill tomorrow's first glass tonight.
4. Keep a simple count for two weeks.
5. When it feels normal, add one more moment.

Water is one of the easiest places to start, which is why it made our list of small habit ideas for a calmer life. Once it's steady, the same steps work for almost anything. Here's how to build a habit that actually sticks.

This guide is general information written in September 2026. It is not medical advice.