Thanks for posting this, Ariel. It sounds pretty no-s-like, including an exempt day. I'm always encouraged when I read about independent discoveries like this.
The charity part is a nice touch. There can be something so self absorbed about self improvement. Giving it a generous, outward component helps balance this, and I think it some weird way, drives it forward. It's morally "natural," right, and satisfying that even the most personal virtue should help others. In a a world of scarcity (most of the world for most of history, including today), restraint is generous in straightforward way: what you don't eat needier others will. In our age of seemingly infinite excess, it takes a little conscious effort to make it so, but not all that much.
I used to spend a lot of change on vending machines. Obviously not something one can continue to do on no-s. Now I just throw it in a pot and once a year dump the whole thing into a coinstar machine for a charitable donation. Instead of junk for someone who really doesn't need it, it's nutritious food for someone who desperately does. It's not a fortune, but it's been over a hundred dollars each year. Besides this direct good, and the significant reduction in personal temptation of changeless pockets, I've found that even little acts of charity like this serve as important attention building exercises: most people give less than they could/should not because they are misers, but because they simply don't remember. And what better way of being reminded than by the jangling of your own charity cup? You don't get defensive, your first reaction isn't to concoct excuses as to why you can't afford to give, instead you think, "gee, I'm generous. This is a nice feeling... you know, I could do more."
I posted this as a little everyday "subsystem" a while ago, called
donate your spare calories