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I can remember a time ... before I got into this business ... when the end of the month was always a big deal. There were monthly returns and reports to prepare ... there were figures to collate and things to balance ... hours to justify ... and if you were slow in getting them done someone from head office would call you and give you a not so subtle hint that it was time to do some paperwork.

These days it's so different ... the end of the month comes round and I crunch a few numbers for tax purposes and then it's on with the work that's waiting to be done. Sometimes I miss that old end of the month ritual ... at least it gave you a chance to look back and see what you had achieved ... how well you had performed ... and what things you needed to pay particular attention to in the month ahead.

So why not take a few moments to look back at the month you've just had? For adult webmasters February has traditionally been not such a good month as people's buying habits at Christmas finally catch up with them.

Mainstream businesses ... at least here where I live ... have also traditionally had a quiet February but this year it's been a huge month for a lot of businesses. So how has it been for you?

Have you had a solid month of sales with plenty of loot hitting your bank accounts? How have your new projects gone this month? Were you able to get them completed and online so they could start earning you even more money or have there been delays in getting them finalised?

How has your time been spent? Have you taken enough time off this month or have your work hours been building up to the point where burnout is becoming a very real possibility?

While those questions about sales and income and new projects are important perhaps the most important question is that last one. Have you really taken enough time off or are you getting way too close to burnout?

My partner has been on my case for the last weeks of this month about the time I've spent working and, even though I hate to admit it, he's right. I know the signs to look for when burnout is getting close and I'm certainly beginning to see those.

But if you're like me you just don't want to stop working. You get in the groove and you're pushing ahead, you can't sleep and you would rather get up and work than stay in bed and the thought of stopping to take a few hours off just seems so wrong ... but that's the very time you do need to step back and take a break.

So, as you look back over the month that's all but gone, if you start to see those signs that indicate that you do need some time away from the computer then take a break because, by the time the end of the new month comes around it might be too late.

Spending a little time reviewing the month that's about to pass can be helpful in other ways too. Taking a few minutes to look at what's been happening with your sales and income can help you see things about the health of your business that you might miss if you've spent all your time focused on getting things done.

Before you look at the figures make a note of what you think has made you the most money during the past month and then look at the figures to see something close to reality ... but remember that those figures are only part of the picture so don't run off and celebrate just yet.

Now compare your sales and income with the amount of time that you had to work to achieve those figures and you will start to see something much closer to reality.

It may be that you spent a lot of hours during the past month on one particular niche or one type of marketing and all that work produced only a small part of your income. On the other hand you might have spent hardly any time on something that was actually a huge earner for you. And you can use the same set of comparisons to compare your sponsors too.

Once you have the results of those comparisons in front of you you're in a much better position to make the right decisions about what you will spend your time on during the new month and which sponsors you will focus your efforts on and which ones will get less of your time and efforts.

Yes ... the end of the month is a good time to take the pulse of your business and make informed decisions about what you want to do in the weeks ahead so do it ... and if you missed the end of the month then do it now.