Build a water habit that actually lasts
The app is built on a handful of findings about how habits form. They work just as well without it, and better with it.
Hang it off something you already do
New habits stick when they are attached to an existing cue — after brushing your teeth, before each meal, when you sit down at your desk. That is why Sippy's fixed reminders are at waking up and before meals rather than at round hours.
Keep the bottle where you can see it
What is in sight gets chosen. Putting a bottle on the desk works for the same reason moving water to eye level in a cafeteria increased how much people took (Thorndike et al., 2012). A Home Screen widget is the same trick on your phone.
Let a missed day be a missed day
Missing one occasion does not meaningfully affect how a habit forms (Lally et al., 2010) — and expect it to take a while: the same study put the average at about 66 days to become automatic. Sippy is built around that: half a goal keeps the streak, freezes cover the rest, companions never die.
Set it up this way
- Set honest wake and bed times, so the day is spread over the hours you are actually up.
- Set the four cup sizes to your real glasses, so logging never needs arithmetic.
- Put the small widget on your Home Screen, or the Control Center button on the Action button.
- Leave reminders on Normal for the first two weeks, then switch to Gentle.
- After a fortnight, read the weekly tips card if you have PRO. If it points at a quiet stretch of your day, put the extra reminder in the middle of it.
FAQ
- How long before it feels automatic?
- The often-quoted 21 days is a myth. The best estimate is a median of around 66 days, with a very wide spread (Lally et al., 2010).
- Should I aim for a perfect streak?
- No. Aim for five good days a week, which is what the weekly challenge asks for.
- What is the single most useful setting?
- Your cup sizes. If one tap matches one real glass, you will keep logging.
Sippy is a reminder and a record of what you drink, not medical advice. Its suggested goal follows published guidance for healthy adults, and the app is for ages 14 and up. If you have heart, kidney or liver disease, low blood sodium, take diuretics, or have been told to limit fluids, ask your doctor before setting a goal.
Drink water, grow cute cats
Sippy nudges you only when you are behind, logs a glass in one tap from the Lock Screen, and grows a cat farm — or a tiny forest — as the goal days add up. Free, no ads, and nothing leaves your iPhone.
Download on the App Store