How to make this happen in 6 steps:
💡 DRINK WATER THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Drinking water or unsweetened tea throughout the day is the best way to stay hydrated and to prevent false feelings of hunger. The health benefits include improving your digestive system, your joints and aiding in recovery. Staying properly hydrated also helps your skin health. Try to drink between 2 and 3 liters of water or unsweetened tea a day. Let’s now go over some steps to help you drink more water:
STEP 1: 🏆 VISUALIZE SUCCESS
Envision an improved version of your current self. Imagine how healthy habits will help you feel fitter, stronger and achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
STEP 2: 🔎 ANALYZE YOUR CURRENT ROUTINE
Think about what are you drinking now throughout the day, how much and how often. Write it down.
STEP 3 🚧 IDENTIFY OBSTACLES THAT COULD PREVENT YOU FROM DRINKING ENOUGH WATER
Next, identify the things that might be preventing you from drinking enough water. Common examples include:
- Not having regular access to water or unsweetened tea
- Drinking a lot of coffee instead
- Drinking sodas and diet sodas throughout the day
These are habits you want to start reducing.
This video provides an overview of the 6 steps displayed on this page.
STEP 4: ✏️ HOW YOU CAN MODIFY YOUR EXISTING ROUTINE TO MAKE YOUR HABIT HAPPEN
Now let's look at a few easy things you can do to help you drink more water:
- Substitute coffee with unsweetened tea
- Keep a water bottle in your workplace and in your car
- Ask your company to install a water fountain or provide bottled water
- Set an alert at regular intervals to remind you to drink a glass of water
STEP 6: ⏰ FIND A TRIGGER
Find a few triggers or cues that will prompt you to perform your new habit. Triggers will help embed these habits into your routine. Examples of triggers you can use to drink more water are:
After I wake up, I will drink a large glass of water
After I come in to the office, I will drink a cup of tea
Before I have my lunch, I will drink a glass of water
STEP 6: 🎈 CELEBRATE SUCCESS TO MAKE YOUR HABIT STICK
It may sound silly, but celebrating your new habit after each time you do it, helps to engrave it into your routine. Our brains like the positive reinforcement and many celebrations over time make it more likely our new habits become part of our automatic behavior. Celebrations can vary from person to person, so find one that works for you. Here are two examples:
💪 Tell yourself “That was good” after you finished your glass of water
🙂 Smile because you made yourself and your co-worker a cup of unsweetened tea
What if you fall off the wagon?
If one day you don’t drink enough water, don’t beat yourself up about it, just get back on track the next day. Some habits may take a bit longer to stick but if you feel you’re falling off the wagon quite frequently, then just revisit these steps. You will probably discover new obstacles. Trial and error is part of building a sustainable routine.
Additional helpful resources: Tiny Habits, BJ Fogg, PhD
If you experience difficulties with implementing these 6 steps into your daily routine, or if you would like more information about habit formation, we encourage you to read “Tiny Habits” by BJ Fogg. BJ developed the Tiny Habits Method to help people build habits in a sustainable manner.
