Since I made the decision to start to drink more water, it’s been a little bit of a challenge. Apparently deciding to do something (duh) isn’t the only thing you have to do.

But… I’ve gone from drinking basically no water to drinking over two liters of water a day. (Huge for me!) The results have been amazing, too: clearer skin, more energy, and opting for more water over other drinks aka less sugar./

I will say, I think everyone will know themselves the best. I know people who swear by tracking water by apps and using the apps for accountability. I could never remember to log my water intake and it was more frustrating than helpful. I took a lot of different pieces of advice and came up with a great system that worked for me… and maybe you can adapt it to work for you as well.

1. I made the decision to drink more water | Although this isn’t enough to guarantee success on itself, it’s a start. And an important start at that! Making it a goal, made me hold myself accountable. It wasn’t easy (hello, it’s been a year!), but it did eventually pay off. I tried all sorts of things knowing that it was looping back to my ultimate goal: my health.

2. Lemons made it easy | Using lemon wedges in the water was key. I tried other fruits, but way preferred the light lemon taste. I couldn’t believe how much more quickly I was able to drink the water when there was a lemon wedge or two in there.

3. One bottle, first thing in the morning | Even if I had a goal of drinking more water during the day, I’d put it off. I discovered that if I started by drinking water I would be more likely to drink more throughout the day, and I was off to a great start before 8am! I typically would drink a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and I’ve just replaced the coffee with the bottle of water. Well, maybe replace isn’t the right word… postponed is more accurate!

There was an article I read about how to get in the habit of something. The tip was that you have to incorporate the habit into your every day routine. You “anchor” the new habit into something you’re already doing. For example, doing a set of pushups after brushing your teeth. I had been taking medication in the morning with a sip of water from the faucet… Now I take the medication right when I come home from walking Teddy with the first sip of the water bottle. It’s the official “start” of my water drinking for the day! It was so surprisingly simple to make the habit stick when I was anchoring it to something I was already doing.

(I had read articles about the benefits of warm lemon water in the morning, but I way prefer cold water. I have no idea if it’s worse/better than warm water… but I do know that it’s something I like and that it works for me. I’ll take it.)

4. Keep the refrigerator stocked | Keeping water bottles ready to go in the refrigerator was definitely the first step to drinking more water for me. With the lemon slices, it’s really just one more step (actually cutting the water). It seriously saves time and energy when the bottles are filled and stocked with lemons and ready to go!

5. Every day is a new day | There are days when I’m not as disciplined and skip the water in the morning or only drink half. I just remember the next morning that it’s a new day and another chance to drink more.