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Realistic Tips to Drink More Water When You Forget, Dislike It, or Have No Routine

By Clara Ashby Published 11 min read

Drinking more water gets easier once you fix the one thing in your way. Forget? Keep a drink in sight and pair a glass with something you already do. Dislike plain water? Tea, coffee and milk count. No routine? Pick two anchors that survive any day. Then set a goal you can hit and log it in seconds.

These tips to drink more water are sorted by obstacle, so you can go straight to yours. They cover how to drink more water when you forget, when plain water does nothing for you, when your days have no shape, and when the bathroom trips are the real problem.

Tips to drink more water: a single glass of water standing just past a low orange hurdle

Why "just drink more water" never sticks

Everyone already knows the advice. The trouble is that "just drink more water" skips the part where something gets in the way. That something is different for different people.

For most people it comes down to one of four things:

  • You forget. The glass is in the kitchen and your day is somewhere else.
  • You do not like plain water. If your honest answer is "I hate drinking water", a nicer bottle will not change that.
  • You have no routine. Shifts, small children or a timetable that changes every day leave no fixed moments to hang a habit on.
  • Bathroom trips put you off. More drinks can mean more trips, and your day may not have many places to stop.

None of these is a personal failing. They are practical problems, and practical problems have practical fixes. So this guide is organised by obstacle rather than by time of day: skip straight to the one that sounds like your week.

Diagram of four paths to one water glass, blocked by a clock, other drinks, scattered calendar pages and a door
Four obstacles, four different fixes. Forgetting, disliking plain water, having no routine and bathroom trips each block the path to the same glass in their own way.

Start with a goal you can hit this week

Eight glasses a day is a rule of thumb, not a rule; the full argument lives in why 8 glasses of water a day is not a rule. So there is no need to chase a famous number from day one.

A better first goal is one you can hit this week. Take a normal day, count everything you drink, and add one more glass. Hold that for a week and you have something to build on, rather than a target you gave up on by Wednesday.

If one extra glass feels too easy, good. Easy is the whole point of week one. If that week felt comfortable, week two can add another glass.

Count every drink, not just water. The NHS guide to water, drinks and hydration counts water, lower-fat milk and sugar-free drinks, tea and coffee included, as part of your daily intake. So your morning coffee is part of the total, not a failure to drink water.

A modest goal also changes how the week feels. A target you nearly always reach tells you the plan is working. A target you rarely reach quietly teaches you to ignore it.

If you want a number to start from, the Water Intake Calculator is one place to begin. Treat whatever figure you land on as a first draft. Once you know what a normal week looks like, nudge it up or down.

Tea, coffee, milk, soup and water all pouring into one daily goal ring, with one extra glass of water beside it
Every drink feeds the same daily total. A first goal of one more glass than a normal day is enough to start with.

Tips to drink more water by what gets in the way

Each tip below starts from a single obstacle. Read the one that sounds like you and skip the rest, because hardly anyone has all four at once. The forgetting and taste sections are short on purpose, since those topics have their own guides, while the no-routine and bathroom sections carry most of the detail.

You forget

A drink you can see beats a drink you have to fetch. Keep a glass or bottle in your line of sight, and pair one drink with a habit you already have, like opening your laptop. The CDC also lists carrying a reusable bottle among its tips for water and healthier drinks.

A plain phone alarm or timer, set for hours you choose, does the job too. Another option is the Online Water Reminder. For the deeper tactics, see how to remember to drink water when you are deep in work.

You do not like plain water

Sparkling water, a colder or warmer glass, tea, coffee and milk are all first-class options, and every one of them counts toward your goal, as The Most Hydrating Drinks, Measured Against Water shows. Soup and water-rich foods count too, and How Much Water Is in Food? has the numbers.

This clip starts at the water segment, where Jessica McCabe of How to ADHD admits she forgets too, then covers leaving bottles where you already sit and getting fluid from hot water, herbal tea, fizzy water and food.

You have no routine

Most advice on how to get yourself to drink more water assumes a nine to five day. Plenty of days look nothing like that. The fix is to find anchors that turn up whatever shape the day takes.

Shift workers. Your morning might start at six in the evening, and next week it moves again. Clock times are useless here, but the start of a shift and the first proper break are not. Tie a drink to both.

Parents of small children. The day is run by someone who cannot tell the time. Meals, naps and the school run still happen, even when they happen late. Pour yourself a glass when you pour theirs, and it rides on a moment you never skip.

Freelancers. There is no commute, no fixed lunch, and on some days no clear start. The first coffee and the moment you open your laptop still happen, whatever time that turns out to be. Put a glass next to both.

Students on irregular timetables. Monday starts at nine, Tuesday at two, and Thursday not at all. Brushing your teeth and plugging in your phone at night look the same on every one of those days. They make far better anchors than a class slot.

People who travel for work. Hotel rooms, airports and client sites change every week. Packing a bag and sitting down at a new desk do not. Keep a bottle in the bag and fill it at each stop.

Anchors that do not depend on the clock:

  • Putting your phone on charge
  • Brushing your teeth
  • The first coffee or tea of the day
  • Sitting down to any meal, at any hour
  • The commute or the school run
  • Getting up, whenever that is. A glass when you wake is one anchor among many, and drinking water in the morning covers what it does and does not do.

Two anchors are enough. A plan with eight anchors is a plan you will drop by Thursday. Pick the two that still happen on your worst day, not your best one.

Four chaotic days drawn as lanes of scattered blocks, crossed by two anchor lines for brushing teeth and phone charging
Four very different days, two anchors that show up in all of them. Brushing your teeth and putting your phone on charge happen whatever the schedule does.

Bathroom trips put you off

This one is a practical problem, so the fixes are practical too. None of them asks you to drink less over the day; they change the shape of the day instead. Pick the one or two that suit how you spend your hours.

  • Smaller amounts, more often. A few mouthfuls at a time fits around your day better than a full bottle in one go, especially in meetings or on the road.
  • Spread it out. Keep drinks going across the whole day rather than catching up in one big push after lunch.
  • Front-load, then taper. Have more of your drinks earlier and ease off in the evening. Drinking water at night covers the last few hours before bed.
  • Match anchors to your bathroom access. A desk job with a bathroom down the hall and a delivery route with few stops are very different days. If access is easy, anchor drinks to anything. If it is not, place your bigger drinks around the stops you know you will have.
Two day timelines compared: one big bottle at once versus small glasses spread from morning and shrinking toward night
The same day planned two ways: one large bottle in a single push, or small drinks spread from morning that taper toward bedtime.

The four obstacles at a glance

Here is the whole guide in one table. Find your row, try the tactic for a week, and ignore the other three rows until they become your problem.

Obstacle What usually goes wrong The tactic How Water Goose helps
You forget The drink is out of sight, and the day moves on without it. Keep a drink where you can see it and pair one glass with a habit you already have. Reminders are optional: you choose your active hours and frequency, and they are scheduled locally on the device.
You do not like plain water Water feels like the only drink that counts, so the day stalls. Count tea, coffee, milk, sparkling water and soup toward the goal. Tea, coffee, milk and soup presets all count toward your daily goal.
You have no routine A plan built on clock times falls apart on the first chaotic day. Pick two anchors that happen on any day, whatever time they land. Any drink preset is logged in seconds, and the history calendar shows the week, not just the day.
Bathroom trips put you off A whole bottle at once, or a big catch-up late in the day. Smaller amounts more often, spread out, tapering in the evening. You pick the amount each time, and the starting goal is adjustable, so the plan fits your day.

Where Water Goose fits

Water Goose is a hydration tracker for iPhone that fits the tactics above. You tap a drink preset (water, sparkling water, coffee, tea, juice, milk, soup and more), pick the amount and confirm, so a drink is logged in seconds. Coffee and tea count toward the total, because they do.

During onboarding it uses your age, height, weight and gender to suggest a general-wellness starting goal, and you can change it whenever you like. Reminders are optional: you choose your active hours and frequency, and they are scheduled locally on the device. The history calendar shows your daily totals and the days you hit your goal.

Your data stays on your device, and there is no account to create. It will not drink the water for you, though. The goose is confident, not magic.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get myself to drink more water when I hate it?

Count the drinks you already like, such as tea, coffee, milk and sparkling water, because they all go toward the day. Then let soup and water-rich foods carry some of the load, so plain water does not have to do all the work.

How can I drink more water without peeing all the time?

Change the pattern rather than the total. Drink smaller amounts more often instead of a full bottle at once, spread them across the whole day, and have more of them earlier so you can taper in the evening. If your day has few bathroom stops, plan your bigger drinks around the stops you do have.

Do coffee and tea count as drinking more water?

Yes, both count toward your daily total. For the detail, see does coffee count towards water intake and does tea count as water intake.

How much water should I aim for when I am starting out?

Start small: aim for one more glass than a normal day, count every drink, and hold that for a week before you change anything. If you want a number to start from, try the Water Intake Calculator. The goal section above explains why a modest target beats a famous one.

How do I make myself drink more water every day?

Find the obstacle that is actually yours and fix that one thing. If you forget, put a drink in sight; if you have no routine, pick two anchors that happen on any day. Then set a goal you can hit and log each drink in a few seconds, so the day adds up without you keeping count in your head.

What are some easy ways to drink more water?

Here are five easy ways to drink more water, all taken from this guide:

  • Keep a drink where you can see it.
  • Tie drinks to two anchors, like brushing your teeth and putting your phone on charge.
  • Count tea, coffee, milk, sparkling water and soup.
  • Drink smaller amounts more often, and taper in the evening.
  • Set a goal you can hit this week, and log it in seconds.

This article is general wellness information and not medical advice, so check with a healthcare professional if you have a health condition that affects how much you should drink.

If a calm, quick way to log what you drink sounds useful, Water Goose is available now for iPhone on the App Store.