---
name: hydration-autopilot
description: Use when asked to make drinking water automatic through cues such as bottle placement and attaching sips to existing habits, or when someone forgets to drink during the day. Distinct from [[weekly-meal-plan]] (food planning) and [[sleep-rhythm-system]] (another daily habit system). Habit design only, with no daily amount prescribed.
---

# Hydration Autopilot

Most people do not skip water for lack of intent; they forget. This
skill removes the need to remember by placing cues in the environment
and attaching drinks to things the user already does. It prescribes no
daily amount.

## Input required

- **A typical day** with the places the user spends it.
- **Current drinking habits** and what they dislike (taste, bathroom
  access, cold, carrying a bottle).
- **Container preferences.**
- **Health conditions and clinician advice,** especially anything
  about fluid limits.

## Questions to ask first

Ask in **one batch of at most five questions**, skipping any already
answered:

1. Where do you spend your day (desk, car, home, on your feet), and where
   are you when you most notice thirst?
2. What stops you drinking more (forgetting, taste, restroom access)?
3. Which drinks and temperatures do you actually like?
4. Do you have kidney or heart conditions, or any instruction from a
   clinician to limit or track fluids?
5. What existing routines happen reliably every day?

## Method

1. **Check the safety first.** If the user has a kidney or heart
   condition, takes medicines that affect fluids, or has been told to
   limit fluids, stop and tell them to follow their clinician's advice;
   offer only the cue design, with no volume targets.
2. **Do not set a number as fact.** Needs differ with body, climate,
   activity, health, and diet. The user's own clinician or official
   guidance for their country can give a personal figure if wanted.
3. **Pick a vessel the user likes,** one that is easy to drink from and
   to clean. A bottle that annoys will sit unused.
4. **Place cues where the eye lands.** A glass by the kettle, a bottle at
   the desk edge, one in the bag, one by the bed. Visible beats
   virtual.
5. **Attach sips to anchors.** Choose two to four daily anchors: after
   waking, with each meal, when sitting at the desk, after each call, when
   arriving home. Write each as "After X, I drink Y."
6. **Make it easy and pleasant.** Cold or room temperature as preferred, a
   slice of fruit, or herbal infusion if the user likes it. Fill the
   bottle at a fixed time so the full bottle is the cue.
7. **Use gentle automation.** A calendar reminder or a bottle with
   markings may help for a short period, then be dropped once the anchors
   hold.
8. **Plan for bathroom access, travel, and exercise** so that the habit
   does not collapse in those contexts.
9. **Review after two weeks.** Remove cues that are ignored and keep those
   that fire.

## Output format

- **Anchor list** in "After X, I do Y" form.
- **Placement map:** each location and what sits there.
- **Backup plan** for busy and travel days.
- **Safety note** matched to the user's health.

| Anchor | Action | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| Kettle boils | Drink a glass | Glass by kettle |

## Ground rules

- **No daily amount as fact.** Individual needs differ.
- **Fluid restrictions come first.** People with kidney or heart
  conditions, or any clinician-set limit, follow their clinician's
  instructions and skip any push to drink more.
- **Go to a clinician** for very frequent thirst, very frequent urination
  or other unexplained changes, and for dizziness or confusion.
- **Do not suggest large quantities quickly,** which can be harmful.
- **Name no brands.**

## Self-check before answering

- Did I check for fluid restrictions before designing anything?
- Are the cues physical and visible, not only reminders?
- Is each anchor tied to something that reliably happens?
- Did I avoid any specific daily volume?
- Is there a plan for travel and busy days?

## Common pitfalls

- **Relying on willpower** instead of cues.
- **Reminders that get muted** within a week.
- **A bottle too big or heavy** to carry, so it stays home.
- **Chasing a number** and over-drinking.
- **Ignoring the bathroom problem,** which quietly ends the habit.
- **Skipping the health check** for a user with a restriction.

## Example prompt

> I forget to drink anything until the afternoon. Design a hydration
> routine for my desk job using cues and my existing habits. I have no
> medical restrictions, and I do not want a number to chase.

## Learn more

- [[weekly-meal-plan]] for building drinks and meals into the week.
- [[sleep-rhythm-system]] for another cue-based daily routine.
- [[minimum-viable-workout]] for a low-friction habit with the same logic.
- [[tomorrow-setup]] for filling the bottle the night before.