I do virtually the same thing. Lately, though, I've taken to using a full-length (66" - I'm not all that tall) neoair sleeping pad, and an empty pack is simply not thick enough to elevate my lower legs even with the pad. (Occasionally, if I'm forced to pitch my tent with a noticeable downhill cant, I put the pack under the low end of the pad to level it a bit.

Mostly, though, I now use the pack, stored cross-wise in the tent, under my head as part of my pillow; my shoes (formerly part of my pillow) store one behind the other, toward the foot, on the door side of my tent.

My current tent of choice is the MSR Carbon Reflex 1 (or maybe the Big Agnes Copper Spur - what day is this? )

The thing that does the most to make it possible to put everything inside the tent is that there isn't very much "everything" to put inside. Minimizing the amount of stuff you carry maximizes the livability of your tent.