For this assignment, I tracked my daily water intake from Friday through Monday. I’m currently trying to drink about 3.5 liters a day because I take creatine, which basically means I need to fully drink my 20 oz. water bottle six times throughout the day. To measure this, I logged the time every time I filled my bottle and when I finished it. Here is a table logging this data:
| Date | Bottle # | Time Filled | Time Finished | Context When Finished |
| Fri Jan 9 | 1/6 | 10:04 am | 10:08 am | Morning wake-up |
| Fri Jan 9 | 2/6 | 10:09 am | 12:34 pm | Lunch |
| Fri Jan 9 | 3/6 | 12:50 pm | 5:32 pm | Gym |
| Fri Jan 9 | 4/6 | 5:43 pm | 7:27 pm | Dinner |
| Fri Jan 9 | 5/6 | 8:43 pm | 11:03 pm | Bedtime |
| Sat Jan 10 | 1/6 | 11:07 am | 11:17 am | Morning wake-up |
| Sat Jan 10 | 2/6 | 11:19 am | 2:52 pm | Lunch |
| Sat Jan 10 | 3/6 | 3:15 pm | 3:47 pm | Gym |
| Sat Jan 10 | 4/6 | 3:50 pm | 4:07 pm | Gym |
| Sun Jan 11 | 1/6 | 10:48 am | 10:59 am | Morning |
| Sun Jan 11 | 2/6 | 11:19 am | 3:50 pm | Lunch |
| Sun Jan 11 | 3/6 | 5:53 pm | 6:38 pm | Doing Work |
| Sun Jan 11 | 4/6 | 11:36 pm | 12:13 am | Bedtime |
| Mon Jan 12 | 1/6 | 9:35 am | 9:53 am | Morning wake-up |
| Mon Jan 12 | 2/6 | 10:07 am | 12:48 pm | Lunch |
| Mon Jan 12 | 3/6 | 12:50 pm | 4:40 pm | Gym |
| Mon Jan 12 | 4/6 | 4:43 pm | 5:39 pm | Gym |
| Mon Jan 12 | 5/6 | 5:46 pm | 7:12 pm | Dinner |
| Mon Jan 12 | 6/6 | 10:19 pm | 12:40 am | Bedtime |
My Experience:
Tracking both the start and end times of each bottle turned out to be way more useful than I expected. It helped me notice when drinking water felt almost automatic versus when I’d somehow go hours without even looking at my bottle. I logged everything in my Notes app right after refilling and finishing each one, which honestly saved me from trying to piece together my day from memory later. The process only took a few seconds each time, so it never felt like a chore, and having that immediate record made me way more aware of my actual intake versus what I assumed I was drinking. Being tracked also made me want to hit my goal, so I’d sometimes end up chugging water at night just to reach that six bottle mark.
Model 1:
Model 2:
Main Learnings:
One clear pattern was that I drank the most water in the mornings and around gym sessions, which I think is because my body genuinely needs it at those times. I always wake up extremely thirsty, and out of habit I drink a full bottle every morning before doing anything else. Friday, Saturday, and Monday I hit the gym, and on those days I was knocking out multiple bottles during or right after workouts because I get really thirsty when I’m active. I either came close to or actually hit my goal those days. Sunday stood out immediately because it was a rest day, and without the gym acting as a built-in reason to drink water and with nothing really structured going on, my intake just fell off.
Meals played a bigger role than I thought they would too. When I ate at normal times, especially on weekdays, drinking water just kind of happened without me forcing it. But on the weekend, especially Sunday, my eating schedule was all over the place, and staying hydrated totally slipped my mind. Looking at the table, I also noticed some bottles took me several hours to finish, especially during long work sessions. Turns out when I’m locked in on something, I’m not getting up to refill even when my bottle is sitting right there.
Overall, this made me realize my water intake isn’t really about discipline or remembering to be thirsty. It comes down to routines and little environmental cues doing the heavy lifting. Just tracking the habit forced me to pay attention to when I was slipping, and it became pretty obvious that stuff like going to the gym or eating meals at consistent times naturally kept me more hydrated without any extra effort.
What I’d Do Differently Next Time:
If I did this again, I’d pair refilling my bottle with stuff I’m already doing, like grabbing water right after a meal or after finishing a chunk of work, instead of waiting until I actually feel thirsty. I’d also set some reminders earlier in the day so I’m not stuck chugging water at 10pm trying to catch up. And honestly, just keeping my bottle directly in my line of sight while I work would probably make a bigger difference than anything else.
