A ritual doesn't have to involve a spell. An example is circle casting and banishing, prayer, meditation, grounding and centering, cleansing before/after a spell; basically, anything you do regularly as part of your magickal study and practice. The spell is just the prepared formula: the date, the ingredients, the words -- but casting it is a ritual.
Yes you can simply do the spells,
or writing down in your magic-spell-book.
Though in a way that is a ritual in itself.
This is extra-ordinary, since it's merely using a blank journal, calling it a magic-spell-book, writing down where you are for grounding and your intentions goals or plans as wishes.
Technically so long as you know it's a magic-spell-book is okay,
depending on political affiliations, you may choose to call it a prayer-book or merely a journal.
The important part is how you use it.
Think of it as a Captain's Log, the vessel or ship is your body.
writing down important events or where you are
knowing where you've been, is important for figuring our where you are. also can be a good reference.
If you want additional energy for the spell,
can also do a song, perhaps a dance.
Likely the most powerful extra-ordinary spell-casts,
is the act of urination and defecation.
It is a physical substance that you create everyday.
So your thoughts and experience at the toilet is very powerful time for magic.
So be very careful both where you do it, and what you think about when doing so.
It is powerful quantum-binding device, since you're leaving a piece of yourself there.
With contemporary sanitation it does however get all amassed together, typically processed in various ways.
So the quantum binding effect would be more true to the pagan history of magic where people defecated in holes made in the ground.
The stability of the location allowed the feces to wilt an affect the environment with their spell for quite some time.
In contemporary times we might be able to achieve same effect with a septic-tank or compost-toilet.
