  In a recent work, a new numerical method (the lifespan method) has been
introduced to study the critical properties of epidemic processes on complex
networks [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{111}, 068701 (2013)]. Here, we present a
detailed analysis of the viability of this method for the study of the critical
properties of generic absorbing-state phase transitions in lattices. Focusing
on the well understood case of the contact process, we develop a finite-size
scaling theory to measure the critical point and its associated critical
exponents. We show the validity of the method by studying numerically the
contact process on a one-dimensional lattice and comparing the findings of the
lifespan method with the standard quasi-stationary method. We find that the
lifespan method gives results that are perfectly compatible with those of
quasi-stationary simulations and with analytical results. Our observations
confirm that the lifespan method is a fully legitimate tool for the study of
the critical properties of absorbing phase transitions in regular lattices.
