1. I drink 20 oz. before I leave the house in the morning. From when I get up until I walk out the door, I make sure my water bottle has been emptied. I'll fill it up again in case I get thirsty on my commute, but I usually take caffeine-free hot tea to school with me.
2. I try to drink another 20 oz. before 10:15. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, but I always finish it before lunchtime at 12:30.
3. I drink another 20 oz. before I leave school at 3:45. That's 60 oz. down. I fill up the bottle before I leave school and...
4. Drink it on the way home. That's 80 oz.
5. Once I'm home, I generally drink another bottle or two by the end of the night. That leaves me at 100-120 oz. for the day.
Now, I didn't always used to be this way, but last spring I got the idea that I should make sure I drink more water (probably something about clearing up my skin), so I started doing just that. To begin with, I don't drink stuff other than water. I drink coffee in the morning, caffeine-free tea throughout the day, and the occasional wine or something at night, but other than that it's just water. No soda or juice or anything. And yeah, I do run to the bathroom a million times a day, but that's okay. I've made it work with my schedule at school and, honestly, that just means taking a bathroom break on each break I get; something most teachers do anyway.
My advice to someone who would like to drink more water:
1. Buy a water bottle you love. You'll be so enamored with the novelty of it that you'll automatically drink more water.
2. Try to drink 20 oz (or a bottleful) by 9am (or before you leave the house in the morning). It'll start your day off in a much more refreshed way and even if everything else conspires against you (traffic, deadlines, hunger, bad hair day, etc), you'll at least have done that.
I've gotten so used to drinking a lot of water that I don't know what to do without my water bottle. It feels ridiculous but it's like a security blanket. You know how you can get "hangry"? I think "thangry" is a real thing too. Like, if I forget a water bottle and, for some reason, don't have an extra in the car, I will stop and buy a bottle of water that I refill throughout the day.
