Water and Drinks Log

Who this is for

What you drank, when, and how much, in whatever unit you use. A line per drink takes the date, the time, what it was and the amount; the totals row and the summary add up what you wrote, and nothing on the sheet says what the total ought to be.

Anyone who has been asked to keep a fluid record, people who suspect they drink less than they think — or more coffee than they think — and anyone watching a particular drink for a while.

What this helps you track

• Every drink with its time, so the shape of a day shows up
• The amount in your own units — glasses, cups, millilitres, bottles
• The total for the sheet, added up for you on screen and in the workbook
• Which drinks the day is mostly made of

How to use it

1. Write your name, the period the sheet covers and the unit you are counting in at the top; use the same unit on every line.
2. Add a line for each drink as you have it — date, time, what it was and how much. A drink logged at the time is worth three remembered at bedtime.
3. If you want a total for each day, start a new sheet each day or draw a line under the last drink of the day and total by hand.
4. The totals row and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add the amount column when you want to.
5. If somebody asked you to keep the log, take it to them as it is and let them read it.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How much should I be drinking?

This sheet does not say. It carries no target, no recommended amount and no figure of any kind that is not yours. If a clinician gave you a figure, write it at the top in their words; if nobody did, the total is simply a description of your day.

What unit should I use?

Whichever you can measure without effort — a glass, a mug, a bottle, millilitres, cups. Write it in the unit box and keep to it, because a total made of mixed units means nothing.

Does it only count water?

No. Log everything you drink and say what it was. The drink column is free text, so tea, coffee, juice, milk, alcohol and water all go on the same sheet and can be told apart later.

Why does the total run over the whole sheet?

Because the sheet does not know where one day ends. Use a sheet per day for a daily figure, or total each day by hand on paper.