I have found that if I carry a water bottle, I drink water. I think keeping it around as opposed to making it an option ("Oh, do I want a soda or a water?") is going to be a good method for me. As for drinking a glass of water immediately upon waking up - I have heard that that helps some people feel more alert in the morning! I haven't tried it, though. As for the bladder and kidney infection...ouch.
Drink more water or I will find a way for you to inexplicably die of dehydration at some point in Hubskina. Seriously though I found out that I was only half of a person until I started drinking water regularly. I found this out the hard way after drinking water regularly for a long while and then one day not having any water. I had completely shut down. It was actually scary how much less productive I was without water.
Yep, no fun. Had to take some kind of medicine that had me pissing blue for a while. I don't know how true it is that the next big wars will be fought over drinking water, but if apocalyptic scenarios motivate you (they rarely motivate anyone, of course) that might be something to think about too. Changing habits is tough and setting lots of small achievable goals tends to be more manageable for people (me included) so I hope you're able to stick with it.