One proven way to boost water intake is to record your daily intake on paper each night. I do this with a bullet journal.
What’s A Bullet Journal?
A bullet journal is like a visual journal that is used as a planner (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, financial, etc) or as a way to set and track progress toward certain goals. It may also be used as a To Do list, reminder system, or for tracking various things such as diet, exercise, spending, savings, or mood. If you want to track it, there is probably a super cool bullet journal layout out there for you to find and use.
Traditionally, bullet journals were written, drawn, and decorated by hand. If you are the do-it-yourself type, check out these formats from Sweet Plan It and go to town!
For those of us who are less artistic or just don’t have the mental space and time, there are other options!
You can purchase a pre-made bullet journal, but if you do this, you sort of lose out on the customization options that make bullet journals so great. When I don’t feel like I’ve contributed to the elements in my journal, I feel disconnected from it and I’m less likely to follow through with making the commitment to use it daily.
Water Tracking Prep – Before You Begin
Tracking through any method takes commitment but there are ways to make this easier. If you have trouble keeping track of how many glasses you had, try getting a dedicated water bottle and Water Trackerz to easily track your water intake throughout the day. At the end of the day, count how many bands you flipped and record the amount in your notes, phone, planner, or journal.
You don’t have to be a hard core bullet journal user to adopt this practice. You can simply record the number on a notepad each day, or dedicate a page in your regular journal, planner, or a notebook.
Free Water Tracking Templates
If you want the full customization of a bullet journal but don’t want to draw it yourself, there are tons of free (and paid) printable .pdf and .svg layouts for you to choose from.
It can be a bit overwhelming to find one that works for you. Below I’ve organized some of the best free options based on different characteristics.
How to Use These Templates
The great thing about bullet journal style water tracker charts like this is that the images can represent anything you like – glasses of water, cups of water, bottles of water, or even how many Water Trackerz you flipped that day. When you drink up, fill in the image with a pen, highlighter, or any other drawing instrument you prefer.
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Stickers
Petite Planner has a great page of sticker sized printables if you are looking for a smaller format. There are three different formats on one 8.5 x 11 inch page – small weekly boxes, water drop daily boxes, or my favorite, water bottles! The water bottles are labeled with lines numbered 1-8.
Print them out on 8.5 x 11 inch sticker paper and cut them out or apply glue to the back of the image you want and glue it in your planner or journal. If you get bored easily, switch up the images you use day to day.
Or you can print your sticker sized tracking boxes on sticky notes with a cool printable by Bren Did. Print the 8.5 x 11 inch template first. Then place your sticky notes on the template and print the design page. You will love the variety of designs offered in this free water tracker printable.
Weekly Water Tracker Printables
A weekly water tracker sheet will only allow you to track your water for one week. This is great if you are new to water tracking or if you want a water tracker sheet for kids! The large format 8.5 x 11″ page placed in a prominent location like the fridge can help remind everyone to drink more water.
This free water tracker by Crayons and Cravings will get you started.
If you like the weekly format, this bold colorful design by COACH.NAN will keep you going strong.
Monthly Water Tracking Printables
If you want to keep the cute images but see all of your water consumption for the month on one page, there are plenty of options for you to choose from.
I really like this simple classic from Live Well Play Together.
If you want something with a little color, My Printable Home has another great option.
30 Day Challenge Water Tracker
Are you are looking for a printable to help you track your water intake for a 30 day challenge? This is a great idea because you can do anything for 30 days right?
If you haven’t figured out your goal, I suggest starting with one of the other formats so you can get a baseline of your everyday water consumption. Once you know how much you normally drink, set your challenge goal just a little higher or even the same as what you normally drink. This can help you become more consistent with the amount you drink each day. Once you smash your goal, set a new higher, but still obtainable goal for your next challenge.
Here are a couple great options below but you could also repurpose one of the monthly templates from above.
Check out this colorful 8.5 x 11 inch printable from Hanging with the Kiddos
For a more unique 28 day (4 week) water tracking challenge in a weekly format, check out this free PDF by My Life Well Loved.
Multi-Month Grids
I like grids because you can write down the actual number of ounces you consumed each day, and you can easily see trends in your water intake over days, weeks, or months.
Although not intended for this purpose, this free 8.5 x 11 inch grid printable by Sweet Rustic Bakes has enough space for a whole year of water tracking! Just ignore the 8 oz requirement at the top of the page and use the measure you prefer (Ex. Bands, oz, cups, glasses, bottles).
Each column will represent 1 month. You can label these columns with either a number or letter to represent the months. This gives you the opportunity to use your favorite pens for customization without being burdensome.
Custom Experience
If you would like a print-out but still have the ability to customize, try 101 Planners. I may take a while to figure out how to work the program, which is 100% web-based and free, but the results are worth the time if you are craving a customized water tracking printable. Warning, there is a steep learning curve with this site. If you want to save your brain from the pain stick with the sheets listed above.
