7 things to do in your 50s that make your 70s way easier

If you are in your 50s, you are standing in a seriously powerful decade. You have enough life experience to see patterns clearly, and enough runway to change course in a way that pays big dividends later.

Think of this season like compound interest for your health, relationships, and peace of mind. Small, deliberate moves now can make your 70s lighter, freer, and far more fun.

Here are seven moves I am making (and recommending to clients and friends) that future us will thank us for.

1. Get strong and stay mobile

If I could wave a magic wand and give every 50-something one habit, it would be strength training, with balance and mobility work sprinkled in. Muscle is your independence fund. It protects your joints, steadies your steps, and makes everyday things like carrying groceries, traveling, and gardening actually enjoyable rather than exhausting.

A simple baseline looks like this: two or three 30 to 45 minute sessions a week using weights or resistance bands, short daily mobility “snacks” (hip circles, shoulder CARs, ankle mobility), and a standing date with balance drills (think single-leg Romanian deadlifts or simply brushing your teeth while standing on one leg).

I learned the hard way that ignoring strength catches up with you. After one particularly creaky season, I added deadlifts, rows, and farmer’s carries. My knees stopped complaining, and I could finally bound up hills again. You do not need to love the gym. Just pick a plan you can repeat. Future you wants power, not perfection.

2. Eat mostly plants, and make it easy

I do not do food dogma, but I do love feeling good. And my 70s self wants steady energy, a healthy heart, and numbers my doctor smiles at.

The simplest approach I have found is to make the good choice the easy choice. Batch cook on Sundays. Keep a “green default” lunch. Mine is a grain bowl with beans, roasted vegetables, and a herby tahini. Stock your freezer with veggie-packed soups and your pantry with legumes and whole grains. If dinner is always a decision, it becomes a drain.

Plant-forward does not have to be complicated or purist. Think 80 percent plants, 20 percent flex. Add nuts and seeds for healthy fats, aim for fiber in every meal, and keep your staples visible at eye level. When the good stuff is easy, it happens.

3. Ruthlessly simplify your money

My previous life in finance taught me a simple truth: complexity is expensive. Your 50s are the decade to consolidate accounts, pay off high-interest debt, automate savings, and make your money systems boring in the best way.

Start with a quick audit:

• Merge old retirement accounts where appropriate.
• Set autopilot transfers to savings the day after payday.
• Create a one-page summary of accounts, beneficiaries, and logins.
• Build a boring buffer fund of 6 to 12 months of expenses. Sleeping well is a return on investment.

Are you over-insured, under-insured, or double-paying for overlapping coverage? Clean it up.

If you are supporting adult kids or aging parents, map out boundaries and expectations now, kindness with clarity. Your 70s self wants fewer moving parts and more breathing room.

The goal is not to be fancy. It is to be friction free.

4. Future proof your home (and your routines)

You do not need grab bars tomorrow, but you will appreciate a home that does not fight you.

Start with changes no one notices except your knees. Add better lighting, create zero-threshold entries, install lever door handles, use non-slip rugs, switch to a shower you can walk into, and if possible place your bedroom and laundry on the same floor.

A few well-placed railings can help too. It is not “aging in place.” It is optimizing for ease.

Beyond the walls, future proof your routines. Can you design your mornings so the first hour feels smooth and nourishing? I keep a foam roller by the kettle and do a five minute mobility circuit while the water heats. Tiny anchors add up.

Think access, not excess. Use a sturdy step stool, store items in labeled bins at reachable heights, and keep a rolling garden seat if you spend time outside. When your environment whispers “easy,” your body listens.

5. Nurture your social scaffolding

By your 70s, relationships are more than nice to have. They are your stress buffer, your laughter source, and frankly a health intervention.

So in your 50s, build social infrastructure instead of waiting for serendipity. Schedule standing dates, a monthly potluck, a walking group, a book swap. Volunteer somewhere that puts you shoulder to shoulder with people of different ages. My local farmers’ market shifts are soul food.

Have the conversation you have been avoiding. Apologize where you need to. And be brave about making new friends. I know it can feel awkward. I also know awkward is temporary while isolation lingers. Reach out first. Double down on the people who leave you more alive than when you arrived.

6. Get your medical house in order (and learn your numbers)

Your 50s are a prime time to go from reactive to proactive.

Make a master list of your medications, allergies, surgical history, and key contacts. Keep a digital copy in a secure folder and a hard copy in your go bag. If you use a patient portal, keep it organized. If you do not, sign up and learn your way around it. Your future self and any future care team will be grateful.

Screenings matter: colon, breast, skin, blood pressure, blood sugar, and bone density as recommended by your doctor. Do not just do the tests. Understand the results. Create a simple numbers dashboard for your A1C, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, blood pressure, vitamin D, and bone density T score.

Track trends, not one offs. You do not need to be obsessive. You do need to be informed.

7. Design a purpose rich calendar

Retirement, or semi retirement, is not a feeling. It is a calendar. Too many people work like crazy and then arrive at a wide open schedule with no scaffolding for meaning. Your 50s are the perfect time to prototype your 70s days.

Ask yourself:

1. What would create a the best kind of tired day in my 70s?
2. What skills do I want to be excellent at by then, so they feel effortlessly fun?
3. Where do I want to belong?

Then build micro apprenticeships into your week now. Join the choir. Take the ceramics class. Learn conversational Spanish. Start the garden you will be known for. Teach, mentor, or coach.

Legacy is often local. I host a quarterly skill swap with neighbors, knife sharpening, composting, sourdough, bike repair. It gives us something to look forward to and a reason to keep learning.

If purpose feels fuzzy or perfectionism keeps you stuck, I genuinely recommend Rudá Iandê’s Laughing in the Face of Chaos. I know I have mentioned this book before, and it is newly out and worth your attention. It is not a guru manual. It is a nudge toward trusting your own experience.

The pages reminded me that purpose is not found out there. It is created through authentic expression and service.

His insights helped me design a week I actually look forward to, not just a to do list I tolerate.

Bonus moves that turbo charge all seven

I promised seven, but these tiny upgrades make everything above easier:

Sleep like it is your job. Protect a wind down routine, cool your bedroom, and aim for consistency over perfection. Everything improves, from mood and appetite to recovery.

Tend to your feet. Strong, mobile feet are upstream of happy knees, hips, and backs. Do calf raises and toe yoga. Choose wide toe box shoes for daily wear.

Declutter in circuits. Spend fifteen minutes on one drawer, then repeat weekly. Your 70s self wants less to manage and more room to breathe.

Practice fall proofing skills. Sit to stand without using your hands, get up and down from the floor daily. These are independence exercises.

Let emotions guide logistics. Anxiety before a commitment can be a cue to get curious. Sometimes the body is simply asking you to simplify. As the book puts it, our emotions are not barriers, but profound gateways to the soul. Treat them as data.

How to start this month, not someday

If you are like me, you do not need another inspirational poster. You need a checklist that fits real life. Try this four week sprint:

Week 1: Health baseline

• Book two strength sessions and two walks.
• Order resistance bands if you do not own any.
• Schedule overdue screenings. Put dates on the calendar.

Week 2: Kitchen setup

• Choose three plant forward dinners and batch cook.
• Stock beans, whole grains, nuts, and frozen vegetables.
• Add a fruit bowl to your counter. Visibility wins.

Week 3: Money and home

• Consolidate one stray account or list your accounts on one page.
• Swap one knob for a lever handle and add a motion light to a hallway.
• Create a go binder with medical and financial basics.

Week 4: Social and purpose

• Invite two friends for a recurring monthly walk or dinner.
• Join one class or volunteer shift.
• Pick a small skill to practice for 10 minutes a day.

Then repeat. The goal is not to overhaul your life in 48 hours. It is to put steady, repeatable systems in place so your 70s feel like a continuation of good choices, not an emergency renovation.

Final thought, and a last nudge

Most of the heavy lifting here is unsexy, and that is exactly why it works. Systems beat willpower. Habits beat heroics. Keep your eye on livability, not perfection.

And if you want a companion for this season, a book that challenges cultural noise and invites you back to your own wisdom, I would point you again to Rudá Iandê’s Laughing in the Face of Chaos: A Politically Incorrect Shamanic Guide for Modern Life.

I have just read it, and the timing felt spot on for this decade. One line I underlined and keep returning to: “Their happiness is their responsibility, not yours.”

If that resonates, your 70s will thank you for starting now.