How to Remind Yourself to Drink Water: 8 Working Setups
To remind yourself to drink water, tie each glass to something you already do every day, then add reminders that stop once you are done. If you are healthy, thirst covers much of the job; reminders are for the days meetings, heat or driving drown it out.
Habit researchers in the British Journal of General Practice note that habits form faster for simple actions such as drinking water. Below are eight setups with exact times and amounts: cues, Siri, location alerts, bottles and app reminders. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, founder of DT Nova, the studio that makes WaterDrop.
Medical note: This page is general information, not advice for you. If you have heart failure, kidney disease or a fluid limit, follow that limit, not a reminder. In pregnancy, ask your OB or midwife. If tracking food or drink has been part of an eating disorder for you, talk to your clinician before you start any tracker.
Why most water reminders stop working
You bought the 40-ounce bottle with motivational time stamps. It says "almost there" at the 4 p.m. line. It is 4 p.m. The bottle is full. The bottle has stopped believing in you.
The problem is rarely knowing you should drink. It is that nothing in your day asks you to. An alert that fires every hour, whatever you are doing, soon gets swiped away unread. A reminder works when it is tied to a moment you already have, and when it goes quiet once the job is done.
Thirst still counts. The National Academies say most healthy people meet their needs "by letting thirst be their guide" (National Academies, 2004). Reminders fill the gaps, not the whole day.
Setup 1: tie water to cues you already have
The habit advice from Gardner, Lally and Wardle in the British Journal of General Practice is short: "repeat a chosen behaviour in the same context, until it becomes automatic and effortless." A cue can be an event, such as "when I get to work". It can also be a time, such as "after breakfast".
- Alarm off: the 8 oz (237 ml) glass you left on the nightstand
- Kettle or coffee maker on: 8 oz (237 ml) while it runs
- Sitting down at your desk: 8 oz (237 ml)
- Back from your first meeting or class: 8 oz (237 ml)
- Before lunch: 8 oz (237 ml)
- Back from lunch: 8 oz (237 ml)
- Mid-afternoon break: 8 oz (237 ml)
- Keys down at home: 8 oz (237 ml)
- With dinner: 8 oz (237 ml)
Total: 72 oz (about 2,129 ml). The National Academies figure for women is about 2.2 L, or 74 fluid ounces, from drinks (summary); add a cue if you need more.
It is free to log, set reminders and use the widget and Watch app; Premium adds custom cups, trends and CSV export.
Expect it to take a while. The same paper says automaticity "plateaued on average around 66 days after the first daily performance", and calls the 21-day figure a myth. A missed day is fine: "Missing the occasional opportunity to perform the behaviour did not seriously impair the habit formation process."
Setup 2: let your phone do the remembering
Your iPhone already has a reminder system. Apple's Reminders guide shows Siri requests such as "Remind me to feed the dog every day at 7:30 a.m." (Apple Support). Swap the dog for a glass.
- "Remind me to drink water every day at 9 a.m.": 12 oz (355 ml)
- "Remind me to drink water every day at 11 a.m.": 12 oz (355 ml)
- "Remind me to drink water every day at 1 p.m.": 12 oz (355 ml)
- "Remind me to drink water every day at 3 p.m.": 12 oz (355 ml)
- "Remind me to drink water every day at 5 p.m.": 12 oz (355 ml)
- Plus 8 oz (237 ml) at breakfast and 8 oz (237 ml) at dinner, no reminder needed
Total: 76 oz (about 2,247 ml).
Apple's guide also covers alerts by place: "Remind me when I get home to check the mail." For that, add your home and work addresses to your card in Contacts.
- Arrive at work: "fill the bottle", 24 oz (710 ml), finish it by lunch
- Leave work: "finish the bottle or refill it", 24 oz (710 ml)
- Arrive home: "one glass", 16 oz (473 ml)
- Breakfast before you leave: 8 oz (237 ml)
Total: 72 oz (about 2,129 ml), with three alerts a day and none at a fixed time.
Setup 3: make the bottle the reminder
A bottle you can see is a reminder with no battery. The first CDC tip for drinking more is "Carry a reusable water bottle with you" (CDC). Give it refill times, not just a size.
- 8:00 a.m.: fill, 24 oz (710 ml), empty by 11:00 a.m.
- 11:00 a.m.: refill, 24 oz (710 ml), empty by 2:00 p.m.
- 2:00 p.m.: refill, 24 oz (710 ml), empty by 5:00 p.m.
Total: 72 oz (about 2,129 ml). If it is still half full at a refill time, you know where you stand.
- Mark the side at 8, 16, 24 and 32 oz (237, 473, 710 and 946 ml)
- 8 oz line by 10 a.m., 16 oz by noon, 24 oz by 2 p.m., 32 oz by 4 p.m.
- Refill at 4 p.m. and drink 16 oz (473 ml) by 8 p.m.
- 8 oz (237 ml) at breakfast before the bottle starts
Total: 56 oz (about 1,656 ml). Add a second refill if your goal is higher.
Setup 4: an app that stops when you are done
A water app earns its place when its reminders behave. WaterDrop's free reminders run only inside your waking hours, with a weekend schedule and quiet hours.
They reset when you log, and stop for the day once you reach your goal. Logging is one tap from the Home Screen widget, the Lock Screen or the Watch. A fuller comparison is in the best water reminder app for iPhone.
- Goal: 72 oz (about 2,129 ml)
- Waking hours: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- Quiet hours: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., your standing meeting
- Log 16 oz (473 ml) at 8:30 a.m. and the next reminder moves back
- Reach 72 oz at 6:30 p.m. and nothing else fires that day
Result: reminders only in the gaps where you have not logged, and none after the goal.
- Waking hours: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
- Same 72 oz (about 2,129 ml) goal
- Brunch at 11:00 a.m.: log 16 oz (473 ml) of water and a 12 oz (355 ml) coffee
- Afternoon out: tap the widget or the Watch when you drink, not when you get home
Result: Saturday starts two hours later, so the first reminder does too.
Coffee and tea count toward that goal; see does coffee count as water.
Setup 5: shifts and odd hours
Clock-time reminders break when your day does not start at 7 a.m. Cues do not, because they move with you.
- 5:30 p.m., on waking: 12 oz (355 ml)
- 6:30 p.m., before you leave: fill a 24 oz (710 ml) bottle
- Breaks at about 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.: 12 oz (355 ml) each, then refill the bottle
- Breaks at about 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.: 12 oz (355 ml) each
- 7:00 a.m., handover done: 12 oz (355 ml) on the way home
- 8:00 a.m. on: sleep, no reminders
Total: 72 oz (about 2,129 ml), all inside your own waking hours.
It is free to set the reminders above; Premium only adds custom cups, trends, CSV export and icons.
Which setup to pick
| Setup | Fires when | Knows you drank? | Stops at your goal? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cues | Your own routine | You are the check | No alert to stop |
| Siri daily reminders | Fixed clock times | No | No |
| Location reminders | Arriving or leaving | No | No |
| Bottle with refill times | Every time you see it | Yes, the level shows it | When it is empty |
| Water app with goal stop | Inside your waking hours | Yes, if you log | Yes |
Most people need two: a cue plan for the routine, and one alert system for the days the routine breaks.
How to tell it is working
The NHS gives the simplest check: "aim to drink enough during the day so their pee is a clear pale yellow colour" (NHS). Its advice is also to "drink regularly throughout the day", which is what every setup here does.
If you still feel thirsty, light-headed or tired, compare against the NHS dehydration symptoms. For your goal, see how much water you should drink; for the app, the WaterDrop page.
Questions people ask
What is the best way to drink more water?
Tie each glass to something you already do, such as waking up, sitting at your desk or getting home, then repeat it daily. Habit research in the British Journal of General Practice found simple actions like drinking water become automatic faster than complex ones. Keep a bottle in sight and give it refill times.
How to set a reminder to drink water?
On iPhone, ask Siri: "Remind me to drink water every day at 10 a.m." Apple's Reminders app also does daily repeats and alerts by location, such as arriving at work. A water app can do better by skipping reminders after you log and going quiet once you reach your goal.
What are the 6 signs you are not drinking enough water?
The NHS lists feeling thirsty, a headache or light-headedness, dark yellow pee, peeing less often, feeling tired and a dry mouth, lips and tongue. It also lists dizziness and sunken eyes. Dizziness that will not go away when you stand is a reason to get medical advice.
Is tap water safe to drink?
In most of the United States, yes. The CDC says 9 out of 10 people get tap water from a public water system, and those utilities must meet EPA safety standards. Your utility must send a water quality report every year, so read it. On a private well, the CDC says to test at least once each year.
Sources
- Gardner, Lally and Wardle in the British Journal of General Practice
- Apple Support
- National Academies, 2004
- summary
- NHS
- NHS dehydration symptoms
- CDC
- CDC: index.html
Guides
- Choosing a water reminder app for iPhoneHow to pick the best water reminder app for iPhone: ratings measured on the App Store today, plus the six things that decide whether you keep using it.
- Does coffee count as water intake?Yes, coffee counts toward your daily water. The evidence, the caffeine limit, a verdict for every order from black to bulletproof, and seven counted days.
- How much water should I drink a day?How much water should you drink a day? The intakes health bodies publish, in litres and ounces, why 8 glasses is a rule of thumb, and when to drink more.
- How much water to drink when pregnantACOG's 8 to 12 cups a day, the National Academies' liters, and seven pregnancy drinking plans with clock times in ounces and milliliters.