First and foremost, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented on my original post and all the suggestions and conversations that came out of it. It's been 8 days since I basically stopped engaging in any media that wasn't Japanese. So I figured, just in case anyone cared to know, that I would update you on my progress. First of all, where I was. The general consensus was that I was lower intermediate/beginner when I started. Obviously that has not changed significantly in the last 8 days, but what has changed is that 8 days ago my comprehension was literally 0. I could hear words, but I couldn't comprehend a thing regardless of how fast or slow the speaker was speaking, regardless of whether it was N3 or N4 or N5 .....I even saw one that said N6...yeah, that was weird. As I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner tonight listening to a Japanese podcast that just plays conversations for about 30 minutes. I have been spamming that type of content along with just general podcasts the whole time. I haven't paid any attention to the level, just that they are natural-sounding conversations or natives speaking. And I noticed tonight that if I paid enough attention to the podcast (Listen & Learn: Real Japanese Conversations), I could understand stretches of it. I did have to kind of stop and focus, but I wasn't able to do that 8 days ago. The conversation was N5-N4 level (which kind of bummed me out when I checked), so it's not cause for tons of celebration. I wasn't automatic, and it did take focus, but after all this time I finally feel like I have my foot in the door, and it's just a matter of staying on task. Finally, it really feels like my goal is in sight. Very, very, very, very distant sight, mind you; there is a massive difference between wedging your foot in the door and walking through it after all, but the goal is in sight nonetheless. Even if nobody reads this, I'm still grateful for all of your comments that helped me design how I execute this to finally see a small sliver of daylight through the deep dark cavern that is my Japanese listening comprehension journey. So thanks again, everyone.