How to run a water drinking challenge with friends
Drinking more water is easy to promise and easy to forget. Doing it with other people changes that: you see who’s ahead, someone nudges you in the afternoon, and nobody wants to be the one who breaks the streak. Here’s how to set one up.
Set it up in five steps
- Pick your group. Three to ten people works best: an office team, your family, a group chat of friends.
- Pick a length. One week is long enough to build a habit and short enough that people finish.
- Pick a goal everyone can reach. A daily target per person, like 2 liters, is easier to keep than a shared total, and fairer if people have different sizes or routines.
- Pick how you’ll track it. A shared spreadsheet works for a few days, but people stop filling it in. A tracking app that logs a glass in one tap and shows everyone’s progress keeps it going.
- Agree on a small prize: the winner picks lunch, the last place brings coffee, or just bragging rights.
Rules that keep it fun
Count water, plus tea and other unsweetened drinks if your group wants. Keep it about the habit, not the extremes: more isn’t better once you’ve hit the goal, so don’t reward chugging. Reward consistency instead, like the most days on target, or the longest streak.
How to keep people going
Most challenges fade by day three. A few things help: post a quick check-in around mid-afternoon, cheer for whoever just hit their goal, send a gentle nudge to whoever’s behind, and give the challenge a fresh twist each week so it doesn’t get stale.
Do it with Waterbuddies
Waterbuddies was built for exactly this. Make a group with a code, and every week brings a new challenge with a live ranking. Everyone logs a sip, glass, can or bottle in one tap, sees who filled their bottle today, and can nudge or send a heart to a friend. Streaks and gentle reminders do the rest.
Questions
How much water should each person aim for?
There’s no single right number. The U.S. National Academies suggest about 2.7 liters of total fluids a day for women and 3.7 for men, and part of that comes from food. A daily goal of around 2 liters of drinks is a common, reachable target, but people with health conditions should ask their doctor.
Is a water challenge good for a workplace?
Yes. It’s cheap, inclusive and easy to join, and it gets people talking across teams. Keep the goal reachable and the prize small, so it stays friendly.
Is Waterbuddies free?
Yes. It’s free to play, and ads appear only around the mini games. Premium is a one-time purchase that removes them. It’s in closed testing on Google Play right now, and you can join the beta from its page.